


Pomegranate

by persephine



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi as Hades, Akira as Zeus, Ann as Aphrodite, Dubious Consent, F/M, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Hellenistic Religion & Lore), Makoto as Persephone, Quick Burn, Ryuji as Poseidon, Sae as Demeter, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-12-07 10:25:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18233636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephine/pseuds/persephine
Summary: Locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks.(Makoto/Akechi - Hades and Persephone AU commission fic)





	1. glance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TigerRaiken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerRaiken/gifts).



> Makoto and Akechi as the goddess and god of death, a commission fic for TigerRaiken. I hope everyone looks forward to this, I’ve been meaning to write this for such a long time. Everyone else in the cast will be fill-in as I go since I obviously want to focus on their relationship. Also, I’ve taken some leniency on the actual mythology and spun it to where I see fit for the story. So, it’s heavily inspired rather than on spot with their ‘love’ story. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you want to talk to me on Twitter, feel free to request @lokianat. I’m also slowly accepting commissions on a rolling basis, if anyone’s interested.

The earth was the gods’ playground. They tampered with it however it would placate their hearts, but the gods were vicious in their wake. As if the definition of a god implied perfection, they harbored more of the pettiness of humans objectively than they would have admitted. There was one that seemingly stood above all perfection, at least in the eyes of Sae.

 

Her sister was her most prized possession, and she was perfect. Makoto. The goddess often watched her sister pick the flowers of the earth with her hand pressed to her cheek. She’d sigh happily to herself whenever Makoto would smile at the blooms of lavender, and sometimes daisies. Whatever she willed to bloom would come sprouting out of the ground. Such was the gift of Makoto, the fertility of all things. 

 

It was no surprise that Sae loved her. She thought of her sister as the perfection to her flaws. Where she fell short, Makoto could do no wrong. Day in and day out, it was Makoto that blessed the earth with its full harvests. Just the grace of her happiness made everything bloom, and it was obvious. She’d drag her hair through the fields, cutting it every so often only for it to grow back flowing behind her within a day. She’d run and frolic with the other goddesses while Sae kept her watchful eye. 

 

In short, Makoto belonged to her. She was extremely possessive and doted on her sister to no end that none of the other gods would dare to lay their eyes on her. Makoto hardly knew of this protectiveness from her sister. In their mind, there was a naivety and innocence that the gods would often frown and shake their heads at. After all, what good would Makoto be if not to bring joy to the world around her and spread the harmony of her fertility? 

 

There was someone else that watched the gods from afar. Somewhere cold and dark, Akechi, god of Mementos, would be watching.

 

He encountered Makoto by chance. From the depths of Mementos, he grew bored. For a god especially, boredom came very easily. His only visitors were humans after all, and he was lonely. Had he known that the gods would laugh behind his back as he graciously accepted the role of caretaker for the world down below, he might have spoken up. He watched his counterparts take up residence in the heavens and the seas, and he growled in the darkness at his invisibility. 

 

In short, Akechi grew cold and resentful of the gods and aimed to steal something of theirs. But, what irony, he thought, that he steal something from the gods while being one. And so, he dwelled in the darkness some more as he dreamed of what the earth and seas might look like now. 

 

It was a chance visit, really. He paid the world above a visit once a month and he made no exception for the current one. Ascending up the stairs, he opened up a crack within the earth and climbed up the pathway. He felt his horns dissipating into his head as he made himself kempt and presentable to the world. He wasn’t far behind what the humans preferred, but the gods were known to be magnificent and full of light and glows. Akechi wasn’t particularly exceptional, but he was vastly different with his ashy hair and sullen mahogany eyes. A far cry from the silver or golden hair, and their pale ocean blue eyes that the gods were known for. The ragged stripes of his clothing faded when he felt the sun on him for the first time that month and he breathed it in. 

 

He’d have to visit Akira and Ryuji soon, and both of them in their boasts of the heavens and seas would prove agonizing to hear. There was no point in showing up early for their monthly discussions. He strolled through the forest instead, soaking up the feel of the sun against his face and the fields full of grass and flowers. The sight made his eyes hurt, but he looked at it all the same for posterity’s sake, and because it’d be another month before his eyes might hurt from the light again.

 

And then he saw Makoto. He blinked once and realized that she wasn’t human. Something else caught his attention — red eyes, so red like the blood of humans that dragged through the underworld. Her hair was silky smooth and long, trailing behind her near her feet. But most importantly, there was an unnatural glow to her while she spun under the sun. What used to leave Akechi gasping for the dark suddenly became so warm and inviting. He wanted to be there with her under the sun, dancing on the earth that he didn’t belong on. Makoto’s eyes darted to him and then away very quickly. She knew he was there, but he meant her no harm, and whatever heart he had as a god leapt out of his chest. 

 

He quickly saw that she was amongst other goddesses, and he growled at the thought that someone so pure and innocent might be trusted by the gods to be left alone. In his perplexion, his eyes deviated to the one next to her right, and then the two others behind her. There was nothing special about the other three, and there was only Makoto before him. It was as if time stood still and he could simply stare and stare. She smiled at the other three, a full and meaningful smile that could come only from unbearable happiness and love. 

 

Akechi swallowed when the goddesses sat her down, and began to weave the flowers in her basket into her long, dark brown hair. She was a far cry from what he would have known the gods to look like, and yet, she glowed so remarkably as the flowers and trees bloomed simply from her presence - an offset to counterbalance his will to make all things die. He had to know her name, to taste it on his lips, to have it all around him at all times. At the very least, she would know he existed too. 

 

It was as if he willed it, but the other three goddesses ran off without her and left Makoto there with her long, thick braid stuffed with flowers of all kinds. He frowned at the thought of living things dying for no apparent reason, and those flowers would do so quickly if he walked even another step closer. But his eyes widened when she plucked one of the gardenias from her hair. It had long wilted but the moment it touched her hand, it blossomed into its original rooted form. With careful attention, Makoto planted it back into the earth, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear as she watched it grow faithfully.

 

The goddess smiled at the living thing once more and planted her hand to the earth. Within moments, the grass grew higher and the flowers were in full bloom. Akechi watched with awe at the display before him and then swallowed. In that meadow where the sun was their only witness, Akechi might have just picked her up from that grassy plain and hoisted her into darkness. But she was a frail thing, and in his momentary view of her, she was a perfect thing he had to cherish and make his. He’d win her over.

 

Akechi took one step and choked out a gasp. Was this new? Either the feelings had seeped into every fiber of his being and he was overcome with love unbeknownst to him, or the gods had found a way to bar him entry from the innocent goddess. He wouldn’t know her. There was no way one of the gods would will him the slightest amount of attention or affection, and he had known this for so long. But it didn’t manage to stop him, and through that wretched warmth of the sun’s rays, he walked to the goddess. 

 

Makoto’s eyes glanced over again, taking note that a stranger was approaching. But she wasn’t afraid, and she certainly had every means of smiling at him. She had caught him staring earlier, and her eyes blinked up at the sordid figure. She was drawn in by those dark red eyes, a few shades darker than hers, and then by the figure himself. He seemed as though he was very different from humans, but every other reason told her he was a god of sorts. Those hollow cheeks of his went straight down along his face to show his neutral state. Makoto might have felt fear if she stared too long, but she found him mesmerizing also. And so, she spoke.

 

“Hello,” she said quietly.

 

Akechi was stunned at the fluidity of her voice. Just the sound of it made him ache in the loins and his throat run dry. What was happening to him?

 

“Hello,” he choked back.

 

“I am Makoto. And you are?” she asked.

 

“God of Mementos,” he introduced himself as such.

 

“God of Mementos,” she repeated slowly, “Do the flowers interest you?”

 

“Would it please you that they do?” he asked her softly and honestly.

 

“It would please me that you answer to mirror your heart’s intentions. But yes, I hope they please you for it’s my purpose to grow them,” she said with a secretive smile.

 

He smirked. His time was running out. Those wretched gods or goddesses would be running out here soon to see him tampering with one of their own. He scoffed at the thought that he would be see as a god detached from the gods.

 

“Makoto… goddess of flowers, is it?” he asked slowly.

 

“No,” she laughed.

 

He swallowed at the sound of her laughter, aching and twisting in turmoil on the inside. At any given moment he might nearly pounce her on that ground and claim her as his bride.

 

“Goddess of spring,” she said with a smile, “Fitting as it may seem, I suppose it implies that at any given point things would stop their bloom. But Sae has granted the world spring eternal so that all things can grow.”

 

“Ah. Goddess of harvests,” he said, heart sinking, “She is your sister then?”

 

“Yes,” she said with a nod, eyes lighting up, “And if you know her, then you must forgive that I do not know of the god of Mementos.”

 

“I forgive where it is needed,” he replied cheekily, “You need not apologize for such a thing. I suppose it’s only natural someone so beautiful might be obtuse to anything ugly.”

 

“Ugly…? Is Mementos an ugly place?” she asked curiously.

 

“So you do not know of it,” he noted, “It’s not ugly. But it’s certainly not as you might intend beauty to be.”

 

“... As long as things can grow there, I think any place can be beautiful. Such is the justice of all living things,” she said, turning to her long hair to touch the flowers there.

 

“Would you like to see it, goddess of spring?” he coaxed quietly.

 

She tilted her head to look up at him. Nearly jumping, she patted the ground to invite him to sit by her, embarrassed she hadn’t already.

 

“Tell me more about Mementos,” she said.

 

Akechi followed her command blindly. He was already lost. Nearing her face this close, he could see now that she had the face of an innocent and pure girl, one untainted and naive of all things ugly. Sae really had done a number on her, he thought to himself. But oh, he couldn’t help it. He was falling in love faster by the second.

 

“Such as you give things life, my purpose is to give a home to those things that stop their blooms,” he explained, “Are you familiar with death?”

 

“Not so much,” she said casually, her eyes flickering in curiosity.

 

“Then take it as the opposite of life.”

 

“I don’t know… what it’s like to not have living things,” she frowned.

 

“It’s not a strange concept,” he smirked, “It applies mostly to humans. They must go somewhere when their time is over.”

 

As if striking a chord, Makoto nearly teared up at the thought. Her face wasn’t emotional or pained, simply garnering new information that all things living would meet its end gave her grief. She wiped away the single tear and immediately laughed lightly.

 

“Such a strange thing to happen, I apologize,” she said sniffling, “Could it be I’m allergic to such a concept?”

 

“That may be so, Makoto,” he said, rolling her name off his tongue, “Would you like to see Mementos? The place where nothing grows?”

 

“I… I don’t want to,” she said fearfully.

 

“Don’t be afraid,” he coaxed, “I’d keep you safe.”

 

“God of Mementos… the title doesn’t remind me of anything and yet… what is your name? What do they call you?”

 

Akechi hesitated at her question. There was no reason for him to lie. All the gods referred to him as Akechi, but in that time, he felt like he had to tell her otherwise out of the fear that she’d run away and leave him there broken-hearted.

 

“Goro,” he said with a swallow.

 

“Goro… Goro,” she repeated again, touching her lips.

 

The notion made his heart skip a beat.

 

“Goro, god of Mementos,” she said again, “Would you take me to this place so that I can make things grow again?”

 

“I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to, Makoto,” he let her down gently, “Such a thing is not possible in my realm. Oh… how your sister has hidden things from you.”

 

She sat very still when she saw his arm reach for her face. Makoto was familiar with such an act, as Sae had done it so often before. But in the light, she could see that his arms were black now, and that the sun was slowly dissolving the solid color of his body into stripes.

 

“Goro…? You’re-“

 

“I’m sorry, Makoto.”

 

With one fell swoop, he slipped his arm beneath her waist and picked her up with ease. The flowers she held in her hand dropped to the floor, meeting their harrowing death from impact with the god of Mementos. Makoto couldn’t scream, she was simply confused by what he was doing. He dare not frighten her, even though he wanted so much to press his lips to hers and taste the inevitable honey there. 

 

The earth cracked and the hole that led him to the world below opened again. Makoto took one look at the darkness and he ensured her an instant sleep. He couldn’t risk her screaming for the gods and their lightning rods. Akechi looked upon her sleeping face sullenly, thinking to himself how he had caused the death of so many things but for once, something so pure had entered in by chance and caused a rift within his heart. He wanted to make sure she lived, but he couldn’t live without her now. 

 

Akechi made his descent down the stairs into his domain, goddess of spring in his arms, with no plan other than to make her his. 


	2. descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> to kill a god

Makoto wasn’t slight, for she knew the moment she opened her eyes she was no longer on that precious plane of earth. Long, dark walls painted in shroud and damp left her freezing cold, and it didn’t help that she had found herself on the floor. She huffed quietly to herself, wondering if the god had regretted the thought of bringing her to such a place that he’d leave her there to die. She had yet to know what kind of world down below awaited her, and in her natural state of curiosity, proposed to wander alone. Akechi was nowhere to be found, after all.

 

The thin linen wrap dress around her body proved to be no match for the weather in Mementos, and Makoto grit her teeth at such a cold place. Knowing that nothing could grow without the sun, it made sense to her why the god would tell her as such. Still, she believed there might have been _someone_ who’d be willing to set her free. In exchange for her life-granting abilities, perhaps she’d coax one of the dead to make a deal with her.

 

Some marble-like flooring kept her feet cold and she swore she could see her breath there. A cloister of doors lined the end of the hall that she was walking towards, and it had been left open with the slightest crack. Even through the darkness, Makoto could tell that it had been open, and whatever laid past those doors might have been her escape. Before she could venture any further, the cold grip of someone’s hand pulled her arm backwards. With the smallest gasp, she had been flung into the arms of the god that had kidnapped her.

 

“Curse the gods, you’re safe,” he breathed, body nearly trembling against hers.

 

Only a moment longer, and Makoto would aim to push him away, except she began to question why his body had been trembling so - was he afraid? She allowed him to hold her still, and only just realized that Akechi was nearly shaking as he continued to hold her, rubbing his hands through her lower back and then up again to touch every part of her. It was a strange sensation, one that she had never felt before, but the moment his hand touched the back of her neck, she made a disagreeable sound. He allowed her space.

 

“Where am I?” she asked, frightened, keeping her mouth closed to keep her teeth from chattering.

 

“Mementos,” he said plainly, his hand reaching for the long, tangled braid of her silky brown hair.

 

As if to show that he wasn’t lying, the flowers that had once graced her hair had shriveled and wilted, falling onto the floor unceremoniously as he freed her braided hair. Makoto’s eyes looked down in sympathy and then back up at Akechi with further fear.

 

“I was not lying to you when I said that nothing grows here,” he said with a sad smile.

 

“And you’ve brought me to this place… _why?_ For your own pleasure, obviously,” she snarked.

 

 _I had to have you._ Could he say something like that, he wondered. _I needed to have you._ _I might spend another eternity wilting if I had not seen you._

 

As if feeling his thoughts, Makoto took one step back away from him, the strands of her hair slipping through his hand. He could tell the trust he would attempt to build with her would be to no avail, and his cold, untampered heart began to throb. It was as if the gods had blessed feeling into his being just so he could feel what it would be like to have it wrought away through his grasp. He’d have a heart just to know what it would be like to have it crushed and stomped on.

 

“Makoto,” he reached out desperately, voice breaking from the thought that she would hate him as everyone else did.

 

“Don’t come near me,” she said firmly, the end of that statement falling off as she stuffed down a cry, “Bring me back to Sae.”

 

“I cannot,” he said without a second thought.

 

“Why?!” she asked in clear hurt now.

 

Now would’ve been the time he graced her with his unwarranted thoughts. Akechi spent the hours she had fallen prey to his sleeping spell to kneel by her as she slept. He watched the flowers wilt in her hair and the golden glow of her form mute considerably. There, he thought about how she might become the Queen of Mementos, Queen of the Dead, of all things that came Mementos to die. He felt the dusty heart within himself throb in pain as he thought about her leaving, and he would not have it.

 

Whatever consequences he’d have to bear to ensure that she stay by his side forever would be worth it. And so, he could not let her roam the earth again where everyone and anyone could see her - she was his to remark upon. Whatever Sae’s wrath would be, he would bear it. It wasn’t like he hadn’t _asked_ in the past, but that would all come to fruition very soon. Makoto’s wrath was starting to show, and it was only natural that would be the case. After all, she was Sae’s sister.

 

“I simply cannot,” he said instead of a full-blown confession, “I hope you will find whatever joy you may in Mementos. You’re not leaving.”

 

He watched her bottom lip tremble as she considered whatever hurtful things she might say to badger him to return her. Her red eyes never left his, and the burn in his loins furthered.

 

“Scissors,” she said quietly, “Are there scissors in Mementos? A sharp object with a blade?”

 

“If you wish it,” he said just as quietly, knowing very well she might have planned to cut through him to escape.

 

He walked past her, hoping she would follow to get these precious scissors of hers, and she did. In his mind, he prepared himself for her attempt to kill a god, and knew that it would not work. What hurt Akechi the most was knowing that she would make the slightest attempt, and further prove that Makoto would hate him as his queen more than anything else. As they walked away from the cloister of doors, they closed firmly behind them and Makoto picked up her pace to follow Akechi in fear of the place. Hell had a mind of its own, she realized.

 

She turned one last time to look at the dead flowers on the ground, and tearfully looked away, hair dragging behind her like a weed. They climbed up the spiral set of stairs for what seemed like forever until he led her to yet another hallway of grandeur, so different and much more decorated than where she had been in Mementos. Through a pair of doors with heights that traversed the heavens, Akechi led the goddess of spring inside.

 

Makoto tucked the heavy hair under her arm and waited for Akechi to return to her side, or at the very least continue on their long journey through the place. But he stopped, allowing her a moment to take in the scenery of the place.

 

“Where are we now?” she asked.

 

“My chambers,” he said with a soft sigh, “You still want your scissors?”

 

“And how are they mine?” she asked slowly.

 

“Whatever you wish to have will be yours, granted they are within my ability to give them to you,” he said wistfully.

 

“... A sharp blade would work,” she reminded him.

 

“I think scissors would better fit your purpose,” he said airily, “A blade would hurt, but nothing would cut as deep as scissors.”

 

Makoto looked at him with a perplexed expression, wondering what he might have meant by that.

 

“If you have them, then yes, scissors would better fit the purpose,” she said in confusion.

 

“All right,” he said with dismay, “Can I trust that you will stay right here?”

 

“With whatever trust I can bestow that you will return, yes.”

 

He gave her a small forlorn look, unwilling to turn away from her. She continued to eye him with perplexion and confusion, but she returned the stare to withhold what little power she had in that realm. She wouldn’t let someone like him frighten him. They were gods after all. After a long sullen look, Akechi turned and disappeared within the confines of the chamber.

 

Makoto looked around, books lined one of the walls entirely, and a staircase led up to an even higher terrace filled with more books. In the middle of the room was a bed too big for any one god, and it looked so lonely. It had been made immaculately, but she wondered how long since Akechi might have slept in it. A chaise far closer to the wall of books with a pile of open ones gave the affordance that he had been resting there instead. The whole room conveyed loneliness, and Makoto could feel it just by looking at it and not knowing its history. Mostly empty though, certainly he couldn’t have spent all of his time in here brooding. If he was a god, then he’d have a throne room as well.

 

She took the liberty of running her finger along the material that held the books in place. Thankfully, it didn’t moan and groan like she had thought it would. This place had a mind of its own, but she was pleased to know that it wasn’t all that she had expected. A minute longer, and she wondered if it simply did as Akechi willed it to. Perhaps those books would come flying off the shelf to encase her in a prison if he simply thought about it. There was no trust between them, she told herself, and she would ensure that there wouldn’t be. She was going to escape, whether he liked it or not.

 

Akechi returned, slowly descending down the stairs with some silver-like object in his left hand. Upon second glance, Makoto realized it was a long box of sorts, and she tightened her grip on her arm. She breathed carefully, wondering if he would be prepared. The long robe of fabric over his shoulders cascaded down with him as he made it through the final step and he walked towards her. How different he looked when she had first seen him, she thought. Those horns were unbecoming at first, and Makoto began to tremble at the thought of her mind being accustomed to the god now. But one thing was very apparent, he was very handsome.

 

He showed her the box without delay or hesitation, sighing again as he did so. He used one hand to remove the lid of it, and a long pair of shears sat in the middle of a pile of comfortable velvet fabric.

 

“My apologies for the delay,” he said quietly, “It’s not an object native to me, so it took me some time to fasten them.”

 

Makoto ran her fingers along the long blades.

 

“Just a simple pair would’ve done,” she said in awe, “Still, they’re beautiful and… you made them just now?”

 

“I said I would grant you whatever you wished within my capability,” he said with a small shrug, “I’ve mastered many things in my time alone here.”

 

“I wouldn’t dare use them now that I know that,” she said slowly and regrettably, “Alas.”

 

He made an agreeable sound and watched her lift the heavy shears into her small hands. Akechi winced as he wondered what it would feel like very soon when she used them to slit his throat, or puncture his chest. Were he human, he’d bleed his heart out for her to see.

 

Please, at least aim for my heart, he thought, make it painful.

 

Her hands lifted the heavy shears with a small struggle and then she pulled them towards her back as if ready to strike, blades open. With one loud snip, Akechi’s eyes widened. All the hair that had flowed behind her so loyally fell to the ground and she allowed the shears to fall to the floor with a loud thud.

 

Makoto shook off the remaining strands, surprised at how effective the scissors were having not missed even a single piece. She ran her fingers through the ends as customary, sighing happily at the lighter weight of her hair. Akechi watched her face brighten up almost instantly. He hadn’t imagined her with such short hair, but it made her apparent figure hidden by the wall of hair much more apparent. Very soon, his heart began to throb at the new sight of Makoto before him, leaving his breath short and labored in realization that she hadn’t meant to stab him with those scissors he had just gifted her.

 

“It’ll grow back,” she told him without worry, “Slowly, but surely if nothing is meant to grow here. Alas, I’m still the sister of the goddess of harvests.”

 

“Then you… meant to-”

 

“Cut my hair?” she asked, “Obviously you liked it long.”

 

“No, you jest,” he said slowly, “I will not impose my likes and dislikes on you if it alters your decisions.”

 

“... Then you liked it short,” she said plainly.

 

“I like it because it’s you,” he said breathlessly, shifting uncomfortably at the inability to crush his lips to that exposed neck.

 

Makoto looked up at his towering form, wondering where the rumors about the god in a black mask, or the cold-hearted god she had heard in the heavens came from. The slightest realization that he had a heart left her shocked, and her expression showed it. She still wasn’t prepared for him to reach for her again, and he had aimed for the back of her neck once more. She made a quick step back, stepping on the hair on the floor.  
  
“I… What are you doing?” she asked.

 

“I want to touch you,” he said painfully.

 

“I don’t want you to,” she said firmly, “If it is my wish, then you will grant it.”

 

“I would ask that you reconsider your wish,” he continued pathetically.

 

“And did you not have your way touching me already, god of Mementos?” she asked incredulously, forgetting the name he gave her earlier on purpose, “Bringing me to this place without my permission? What of my wish then?”

 

He seethed at the thought that he could not continue with ridiculous and irrational banter. It was true that he did not consider her wishes to be brought here, but he did ask. She wasn’t opposed to it, it seemed, and yet, he awaited her wish to be brought back to the heavens and that was not within his ability. It would hurt so much.

 

“While we’re on the topic,” she started softly, “What am I doing here? Am I to be your prisoner? Your slave?”

 

“None of those things,” he scoffed in disbelief, “Nothing close of the sort.”

 

“Then what?” she pressed impatiently, “What is so necessary of my presence here?”

 

Akechi felt his heart seize in his chest as he conjured words that might please her. His mouth was slightly parted as he considered what he might have been able to say, but he couldn’t just blatantly tell her that he wanted her to become his wife, his queen, his forever. As irrational as it was to simply kidnap her, the god of Mementos was still a rational being. He’d win her over as he had read over and over again. Perhaps if he could find a way to keep her happy, then she’d fall in love for him, too. At the very least, she could promise to stay. He panicked as he searched inside of him to convey this properly.

 

“I’m in love with you,” he said softly.

 

Makoto’s eyes widened at the remark. He looked at her desperately, hoping that the reaction would change to something more favorable, or at the very least turn sour so that he might know what she thought of him. He watched her lip tremble at his words, not believing for a moment that the god before her had done something so reckless and selfish that he might believe it to be love.

 

“Love,” she repeated to him, “I don’t know of such a thing.”

 

It wasn’t the least hopeful thing for her to say, but just the thought that she might not be able to love him wounded Akechi.

 

“Please,” he murmured, “Allow me to show you.”

 

“I’ve read of it,” she said, “It’s a painful thing, isn’t it?”

 

“No, not at all,” he wretched in the lie, knowing very well how painful it was now that he felt it for her.

 

“It is,” she cried stubbornly, “And you would force me into such a thing? How does the god of Mementos become even worse by the second?”

 

Makoto’s eyes watered at the thought that of something so painful, so horrid.

 

As if anticipating his master’s raw pain, Cerberus’ loud footsteps trembled the hall outside. Makoto felt her body seize up as the banging became louder and louder, coming closer to the door behind her. Instinctively, she leapt closer to Akechi’s direction when the three heads charged through the front door. Letting out the smallest cry, she latched onto whatever heavy robes were within reach of her and buried her face in fear. To her surprise, he was so warm and he reached his arm around her quickly to shield her from the three-headed dog.

 

“Cerberus,” he berated, “Down.”

 

The beast growled at the both of them, sniffing Makoto as she trembled. It could sense that she wasn’t one of the dead, but still, it salivated at the both of them. It howled loudly as if searching for the threat that endangered his master.

 

“Down, there’s no danger here,” Akechi sighed, _only heartbreak._

 

Cerberus did not do as told, tugging gently at the fine linens on Makoto’s body. She yelped when pulled into the beast’s direction, not moving a muscle for fear of being torn limb from limb. A few more sniffs, and Cerberus encircled the goddess for good measure and nestled itself around her body.

 

“... You cannot mean to-”

 

Before Akechi could finish, Cerberus turned one of its three heads to growl at its own master. As if sensing she was safe now, Makoto turned to the body of the beast and reached out for it. Akechi swallowed, knowing very well that if the dog dared to hurt Makoto he’d throw it into the hellfires, probably, but Cerberus did no such thing. Its ears were nearly the size of Makoto’s head but she still reached for him nonetheless.

 

“He doesn’t mean to hurt me,” she said in awe, watching Cerberus sigh as she soothed him around the ears, “He must be so miserable with three heads…”

 

“You mean to consider such a thing, goddess of spring,” he sighed, “And not of the fact that Cerberus has disobeyed his master for the first time ever?”

 

Makoto turned to him, eyes frightened.

 

“Why is he here?” she asked, “Another creature you’ve captured?”

 

“Please,” he scoffed, “We have a strange history, but he serves as the guard for the Underworld lest any dead make plans to leave it. He’s made you an exception, it seems.”

 

“Indeed he has,” she said slowly, patting the jaw of the dog, “Then he shall be my protector from you as well.”

 

“I wish that not be the case,” Akechi said stepping forward.

 

Cerberus growled.

 

“Unloyal beast,” Akechi said gruffly, “Have it your way. You wouldn’t be acting as such if you couldn’t sense my heart in turmoil.”

 

Makoto was elated.

 

Cerberus followed the goddess wherever she went, but there weren’t many places she was allowed to go. Whenever the dog sensed that she might have ventured too far towards the cloisters of doors again, it would nudge her with one of its many heads and push her back towards Akechi’s chambers. At some point, she had somehow convinced Cerberus to show her where the throne room might have been.

 

A walk down a lonely hall that seemed to go on forever, Cerberus watched over Makoto carefully as she traversed towards the throne room. To her delight, Akechi had left her be when he sensed that she didn’t want him around. He had given her the saddest stare as she walked away with his guard dog, but he allowed her to disappear through the doors of his bed chambers.

 

The hall went on and on much like the entirety of Mementos. There was a certain loneliness about it that striked Makoto as off. It was as if no matter where she went, she either felt like she was being watched the entire time, or felt as though she had spent an eternity alone. Had it not been for Cerberus by her side, she might have succumbed onto that bed of Akechi’s and gone right to sleep as if she were a human who needed the rest.

 

The throne room was massive, and of course, there always had to be two seats. It should’ve been obvious to her, but there was one covered in dust and damp. The empty seat made her realize that there had been no one before her. The thoughts made Makoto think even more that the confines of his love were very little if he knew so little about it. Still, she stuffed the thought down since she didn’t know an ounce about love. Perhaps it was such a great thing that it had wrought him as it had seemed and he would never be the same. But with her limited knowledge, Makoto admitted to knowing nothing about Akechi’s feelings or the extent of it, and he had known her for such a short period of time. How could he possibly be in love with her anyways?

 

Curious, she reached for the arm of the throne beside Akechi’s. She turned so that she could face the long walk she had just made. Cerberus circled himself once and immediately sighed as he went to sleep at the foot of the stairs leading up to the thrones. She wondered when was the last time either one of them had seen proper visitors. So many questions left her wondering, and she was the curious kind that Sae often wanted to throttle. Most of the time, however, Sae considered her sister admirable in her curiosities of all sorts, but warned her of the danger her mind often possessed.

 

Makoto lost herself in the books in the heavens. As limited as they were, and as much as she hated reading from a scroll, she found herself there in the libraries in the sky. She had begged Sae once to allow her to travel to the seas where she might visit the libraries there as well, even begging her sister to come along if she meant to worry about her safety. The goddess simply shook her head and patted Makoto off as she always did, asking her to play in the fields with the other goddesses. She’d be left to wonder about what knowledge laid there, and now, she was in Mementos.

 

Makoto recalled the words of the god of Mementos, but he had never mentioned that he had a personal library with the resemblance of the heavens. Perhaps this was the unmentioned realm that Sae never told her about. All these thoughts plagued the goddess, and soon she curled up into a ball to conserve warmth and rested her head on the arm of the throne. It was uncomfortable, but there was nowhere else that she could rest, and Cerberus was nearby so that she wouldn’t be harmed. Still, a part of her wished that she could relay all these questions she had to Akechi, god of Mementos. He might have entertained all of the inquiries she had given to Sae time after time and was met with reluctance.

 

She closed her eyes, wishing for the safety of her hair once more. It was so cold in Mementos, she shivered at the thought. She sorely wished that Cerberus might sense that she was cold and curl up next to her, but the beast did not move from its slumber. Makoto attempted to conjure up the feelings of Akechi’s warm body around her for that split moment he had wrapped his arm around her so protectively. It wasn’t so bad, she mused, he was warm at the very least.

 

Makoto sighed and drifted to sleep.

 

\------

 

As if a consistent surprise, Makoto awoke somewhere else once again. There was an undeniable warmth around her, one that she wished she could soak up and never leave. It didn’t feel quite like the fields she once threw herself in, so she knew she was still within Mementos. Still, she sighed in her sleep at the comfort she had felt for the first time in what felt like nights. When she awoke, it was obvious that Cerberus was not the one who carried her to a comfortable bed. She recognized the room as the chambers that Akechi had showed her earlier, and she had liberally taken up the entire middle of his bed. The terrible god had fallen asleep on that chaise like she had imagined with a heavy tome in his arms.

 

Makoto slipped from the bed, regretting instantly the warmth of the blanket that had been wrapped around her. She hugged herself and ventured closer to Akechi’s sleeping form. With his head rested on one hand and the other pressed to the inside of the heavy book, he looked almost like just any other god she had laid her eyes on. But there was something disdainfully attractive about him, and Makoto knelt down to have a closer look.

 

His face wasn’t molded in that desperate look that he kept giving her anymore, it seemed he had found peace in his sleep. Makoto stared a bit longer and noticed how his auburn hair framed his face. She might have fallen for him in appearances alone, and she blushed at the thought that it only came to her now.

 

Her attention drew to the tome in his hand and she ran her fingers along the cover of it. It bore no title but she could tell that the contents inside were likely nothing she had ever read before. The books in the heavens were flowery, spoke only of happy endings and little turmoil. She wondered if the books in Mementos were the complete opposite. Akechi stirred from her presence. She had done nothing, and yet, the undeniable loneliness had allowed him to sense that she had been watching him.

 

“Keeping a watchful eye?” he mused sleepily.

 

“No! I’d ask the same of you,” she accused.

 

“You need not worry. Your sleeping form does not bring me as much pleasure as you may seem to think,” he teased, “That’s not to say that it doesn’t.”

 

Makoto tilted her head to wonder what that all meant, and for the first time since she had arrived, she wondered if Akechi possessed far more intimate knowledge than she ever would have even guessed. And within that time, Makoto wondered how much her sister had hidden from her.

 

“What does that mean?” she asked innocently.

 

Akechi was hesitant to answer. He had meant that he found it comforting that she could at least find rest in a place she had thought to be so horrid, but he also found pleasure in the fact that he might bring her some sort of easiness someday. In a layer underneath all of that, Akechi dare not consider the proper words to explain the meaning on the other side.

 

“It means that you slept soundly, and I was happy to see as such. Although, I wish you’d seek me out if you wish to sleep more properly. The throne room is hardly the place to sleep,” he said with a frown.

 

“... Fine. If not only because the bed is that much more comfortable,” she agreed, “But would I not be taking up your space?”

 

“You would. And I would not mind,” he said plainly, “I’m used to the chaise.”

 

“And why’s that?” she asked curiously.

 

“So curious,” he commented, “No point in sleeping alone, if you wanted the truth.”

 

She listened to him trail off and then turn his head away from her. His hand went to reach for his forehead.

 

“You sound miserable,” she noted.

 

“What makes you think that?” he joked, “It’s derived from loneliness, if you must know. Although, speaking so freely to someone, anyone at all, is helping at the very least.”

 

“... Then my presence does you well as much as I neglect you?” she asked.

 

“Yes… as much as you neglect me,” he repeated her words, and then reached gently for the fraying fabrics of her dress, “And as much as I prefer that you didn’t, I have no choice, do I? I bear the consequences of bringing you here.”

 

“I might be more favorable if you were to let me go,” she coaxed.

 

“I already gave you my answer to that,” he said quietly.

 

“What I meant was… I might choose to stay and go willingly if you were to allow it,” she clarified.

 

“And how might I know that you won’t run off forever?” he asked longingly.

 

“I suppose you don’t know for certain,” she said, pressing her hand to her chin, “Then it’s out of the question…?”

 

“... I wouldn’t like to get your hopes up,” he said, “As much as I would like to believe you.”

 

“Isn’t love won with trust?” she asked.

 

Indeed it was, and he reached higher up her arm, just shy of touching her skin. It wasn’t like he hadn’t already carried her off into bed, but she allowed him to do so, albeit gently. He didn’t proceed any further without looking up into her eyes. He still couldn’t read her expression, but he wanted to believe that he could touch her.

 

“I thought you knew little of love,” he said quietly, hand sliding up her arm gingerly.

 

“I may have read about it once or twice with little thought,” she said, changing her answer from before.

 

“And… what do you know of it?” he asked slowly.

 

Makoto leaned forward a bit, as if hoping he’d be the only one listening to her harp innocently on a topic she knew very little of.

 

“That it controls, possesses,” she starts slow and steady, breath nearing his lips, “It leaves one destabilized. And yet, I hear such wonderful things as well.”

 

She watched him swallow as she said her words. There was too much seduction laced in her voice, and even Makoto knew it. But the frightening thing was that she liked his reaction to it. For a concept she had only read about once or twice, she was doing it clearly very well given his response.

 

“And what of the wonderful things?” he pressed on, holding himself back from leaning too close to her for fear that she might run off again.

 

“Hmm,” she thought for a moment, and then proceeded to giggle slightly, “I fear not much of it was all that enticing from what I read.”

 

Akechi had to adjust. He turned his body so that he might face her completely and thankfully, Makoto didn’t shy away from him this time.

 

“I fear we might have read different things,” he said quietly, “The love I have read about is as destabilizing as you speak of, and yet… it lends itself to much more.”

 

And just like the first time he had seen her, he began to coax her to become his again. He looked away for a moment, fingers tracing up her arm and towards her shoulder. In their position, she had all the power to leave if she wanted to, but she didn’t flee.

 

“You must be cold,” he started, “I believe new clothes are in order if you are to bear the weather down here.”

 

“A trick to ensure I stay?” she asked with a smirk, “Yes, it is quite unbecoming for me. I’m used to the warmth of the sun whenever I please.”

 

“Then you’ll allow me to mend you your garments? And all the accessories befitting a-”

 

He meant to say ‘queen,’ but he held off on it. He watched Makoto tilt her head slightly waiting for him to finish. When he did not, she leaned forward some more as if anticipating the words to come.

 

“Well? Befitting a what?” she asked urgently.

 

“Nothing, nothing. Befitting you, is all,” he said with a swallow, “Is that a yes?”

 

“Sure,” she said plainly, “I don’t see why not. I’m freezing more likely than not.”

 

Akechi leaned closer, his hand more bold as it slid down her arm. Through the sheer of her dress, he could feel the cold of her skin. He hoped that she might feel how warm he was and lean into his touch. She did just that, and she wanted his hands all over her as time went on.

 

“How do you stand it?” she asked out of the blue, not talking about anything specifically, but the both of them knew they were thinking of the cold of Mementos.

 

“I’m the god of Mementos,” he reminded her airily.

 

“Would it… be granted if I asked that you hold me? But only for practical reasons,” she said quickly, “It is quite cold.”

 

“Anything you wish,” he said, hiding the happiness in his voice as much as he could.

 

He made room on the chaise and she slid into the spot where he was laying carefully. Makoto eyed him cautiously when he slipped his arm around her. She laid her head on top of his chest and sighed a breath of relief. Akechi kept very still, knowing that she didn’t particularly enjoy it when he ran his hands all over her. But she fidgeted in his grasp, wanting more as she stayed in his arms.

 

“Warm me up,” she demanded quietly.

 

“Yes.”

 

Akechi’s ministrations were soft and slow at first. He brushed up and down her arms for a few moments and he could hear the chatter in her teeth die down. The linen dress covered little of her back and he allowed himself the liberty to throw his robe over her.

 

“Better?” he asked expectantly.

 

“Mhmm,” she said simply, “I want more.”

 

“More warmth?” he asked carefully.

 

“More.”

 

Akechi inhaled as he contemplated her words, nearly dying and writhing as she laid in between his legs, the small of her hands raking up his chest as she moved closer to his face. If it wasn’t obvious to her that he was growing more and more possessive by the second, he let it be known when he crushed his lips onto hers. He couldn’t bear it any longer, and she was so magnetic with her pull. She felt him hum against her lips, hands holding her shoulders tightly out of fear that she might slip away. Makoto responded in turn with the smallest moan for more. The heated kiss made her body respond in kind, and it was undeniably the notion that made her warm up instantly. His left hand slid up the back of her neck and clutched her head closer to his lips.

 

When he finally pulled away, his lips traced the curve of her jaw and then near her ear. Makoto allowed this, perhaps simply because it made her burn on the inside, or because she liked the feeling of his lips upon her skin. Whichever it was, it left her heart pounding in a way she had never felt before. Whatever the meaning was behind his lips on hers, she liked it.

 

“It appears we’ve both read about the same concept,” he said quietly into her ear.  


“Mmm, so it seems,” she said with a sigh, tilting her head so that he could press the softest kiss to the nape of her neck.

 

“And of what comes after?” he asked slowly.

 

“I know not what comes after,” she admitted.

 

“I won’t show you now,” he said with the smallest growl, “Then you’ll really destabilize me.”

 

“But you’re a god,” she reminded him breathlessly.

 

He smiled at her wit. He was falling harder and harder, faster and faster by the minute.

 

“Shall I make you the first to kill a god?” he asked mischievously.

 

Makoto’s eyes closed shut at the words, wishing he’d kiss her again. He granted her that wish, as he had promised from the very beginning. Thus began the first turn in Makoto’s heart.

 


	3. favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thesis and antithesis

After their kiss, Akechi put a distance between him and Makoto. They laid very still on the chaise, labored breathing the only thing that made sound in that hollow place. Luckily, in her ignorance, Makoto had nuzzled herself very comfortably on his chest, hands tucked where they might find warmth on his body, and she doze right back to sleep again. He was careful not to wake her, but it proved to be extremely difficult given what had just happened.

 

He thought about what she said, that she knew not of what came after a kiss like that, and though he should have thought to amend that, he did not. Akechi thought of Sae and his brows furrowed, wondering what kind of goddess she was to abstain from telling Makoto anything of the sort. That wasn’t to say that Makoto had no means of figuring it out, but there was bound to be some sort of lapse in understanding on her part. And of course, this led to his desire of wanting to show her, but that only came secondary to his want of her.

 

He gazed upon the plane of her exposed back, watching her body heave up and down gently as she slept. The short strands of her hair left her neck exposed as well, and she had been so sensitive there in the few times that he attempted to reach for it. All of that on full display, Akechi was in a very precarious situation. He tried his best to breathe normally, but he found a hitch in his throat and was thoroughly surprised that the pounding drum of his heartbeat had yet to wake her. Even worse, down below-

 

“Makoto,” he said gently, shaking slightly with intent to wake her.

 

“Hmm?” she stirred.

 

“I have duties to attend to,” he said simply.

 

“O-oh,” she muttered quickly, bolting upright, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep so easily. Can you blame me though? I haven’t felt a single bit of warmth since you brought me here.”

 

“I bear no apology for that if your goal is to obtain one from me,” he said with a smirk, “Would you rather stay in my arms a bit more then?”

 

“N-no. You just spoke of the duties you’ve been neglecting,” she said with the slightest flush.

 

“Worry not, it’s more of a personal reason that I couldn’t allow you to continue sleeping on me like that than anything else,” he assured her.

 

“Then you proposed such a thing because…” she trailed off.

 

“Because if it was what you wished, I might bear the agony a bit longer,” he said with a low laugh.

 

“Me sleeping on you for warmth? How can something so practical be agonizing?” she asked with a furrow in her brow, “Ah. I believe I’ve been selfish.”

 

He watched her demeanor change and she leapt off of him without a second thought. Akechi wondered what she meant by that but she didn’t seem keen on explaining.

 

“Selfish how?” he prodded.

 

“I must be heavy,” she said simply, “I have no right to suppose that I’m not a burden on you when it benefits me entirely.”

 

“A practical one you are,” he said slowly, “Your weight has nothing to do with it. Do you wish for the truth?”

 

“Wish after wish, I _wish_ you wouldn’t call it that,” she huffed.

 

“Wish granted,” he said with a laugh, “And what would you prefer?”

 

“Treat me as your prisoner, isn’t that why I’m here? Your egotistical demeanor has convinced you that you’re in love with me, and I suppose my duty here is to convince you that you’re not and I’ll be set free,” she said firmly.

 

“An interesting hypothesis,” he said with a sneer, “But no, I’ve been a god for far too long to know not of love. Thesis cannot exist without antithesis.”

 

Makoto stared at him with a gaze he had not seen before. It was as if he had tapped into some unknown bank of knowledge that she hadn’t considered before, or she was entirely astounded that a god like him would know such a thing. Those were his theories, anyway. She sat down almost instantly and her body leaned forward in expectance.

 

“If you are to argue such a case, then you’d say that because you have never known what love is, suddenly you are very much aware that you are in love?” she asked hesitantly.

 

He smiled broadly.

 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said, leaning towards her, “And what of you, Makoto?”

 

She didn’t know what love was, but could she properly pinpoint when she felt love if she hadn’t known of its existence? Makoto had read of it being a fondness or an attraction to another, then she supposed, her recognizing his handsome features was one part of the attraction. The thoughts trampled her mind in a continuous loop, and she stopped the conversation entirely.

 

“You’re trying to trick me,” she said quietly.

 

“I would do no such thing,” he said with a frown, “I was simply answering your question.”

 

“And you asked me a question in turn to fool my thoughts,” she accused.

 

“Explain your reasoning,” he said airily.

 

Makoto opened her mouth to counter, but she stopped. Was there a point to explaining herself, she wondered. Worse, it was the most enticing and riveting conversation she had yet to have with a god. Truth be told, the goddesses Sae enlisted to play with her from day to day had only a few topics that interested her. Perhaps this was the reason she sought out books more often than not. In her mind, she was attuned to the earth, but when she thought of growth, she wondered how much of it could apply to her as well. Could her mind grow as fast as her hair did with no mercy?

 

She felt a shiver crawl up her spine in rejuvenation, and Makoto followed where her heart was leading her.

 

“You believe that logically you have to be in love with me because you’ve never been in love with anyone else before,” she explained slowly, “And if such is the case, it’s simply based off of your feelings for me now. But what is to say that you won’t encounter anyone else that might make you feel such a way. Certainly you have yet to meet every goddess in existence.”

 

As if his smile could not get any broader, Akechi gazed upon her with such affection and longing, Makoto nearly felt the effects of his own infatuation slowly affecting her.

 

“Very good,” he said lowly.

 

Akechi was very egotistical, and he loved that she might be able to pinpoint such a thing so readily and accuse him of such. He had no reason to deny it, and he loved more than anything else to prove someone wrong or overshare his reasons for things —if he had anyone at all. He contemplated her words, but they were very similar ones that he had read over and over again. He was sure of his feelings for her, and he was sure that they were feelings of love.

 

He stood from the chaise and Makoto was appalled that he would leave her in such disarray. His fingers traced the tomes along the wall, touching them one by one as he procured the contents into his mind. He stopped when he reached one in particular, and pulled it out of its placement. Makoto watched in awe as the walls moaned and shifted at its master’s command. She had never seen such a power in a god nor goddess before, and she dared to ask.

 

“Why is it that the god of Mementos holds such a power? What is your gift exactly?” she asked.

 

“Gift?” he said with a choke, “I’m simply the caretaker of the dead. As I am god of Mementos, I am also god of the dead. Does that answer suffice?”

 

“Indeed,” she said slowly, “And what of those walls? Why is it that they respond to you?”

 

“An nonliving thing. Think what you will,” he said with a smile, “Such as you breathe life into all things capable of life, I might command things that have no reason to live.”

 

“... I never thought of such a thing,” she said in the slightest awe, “To think I would learn such things from such a horrid place.”

 

“It is quite horrid,” he agreed, “And what else?”

 

Makoto thought some more.

 

“Thesis cannot live without antithesis,” she repeated his words, “Life cannot exist without Death.”

 

“Very good, my love,” he mused, “Anything else?”

 

Makoto flushed at his title for her. It was the first time anyone had called her such a thing. Even as much as Sae doted her, she still referred to her as her loving sister more than anything else. The few times were perhaps between Ryuji and Ann, god of the sea, and goddess of love, and those two acted in such an inexplicable way. Only now did her ignorance start to shift, and in her realization, Makoto wondered if their bond of love was a standard for her to keep in mind. Alas, the love between Ryuji and Ann was not something she could compare to what was happening between her and Akechi. It was simply too different.

 

“... I might be wrong in my theory,” she replied.

 

“It’s a simple leap in logic,” he explained, “That’s what love is. But no, continue your train of thought.”

 

“About Life and Death? If one cannot be without the other like thesis and antithesis then…”

 

He handed her the tome.

 

“I cannot be without you,” he said soft and slow, “You were meant to be mine, goddess of spring.”

 

Makoto looked up from the chaise, heavy tome in hand. Her eyes were perplexed as she contemplated his words. Was this her fate, she wondered, to be with the god of Mementos? To love the god of dead? Akechi watched her run her fingers along the cover of the book for a brief moment before she delved right into reading it. Makoto was drawn to books, and this one she had yet to read. In fact, she might have been content staying in Mementos until she had finished reading all of the ones along that groaning wall. She’d consider that at a later time.

 

Akechi couldn’t help but smile when she positioned herself right back on the chaise and began to flip through the pages. With one hand on her cheek and the other on the edge of the page, Makoto sought his theory out. Perhaps the tome would enlist her all of the knowledge he had about love, and then she’d be in more proper state to debate him. As if reading her mind, Akechi tugged off the cape from his shoulders and left it on the chaise with Makoto. Without looking up and without a word, she pulled the heavy fabric around her and began to read.

 

\------

 

Her curiosity bought him time to mend her something more fitting. The servants he would have usually conjured from the dead to do his bidding kept their deserved rest. Akechi wanted to do this. His hands transfixed on the woven stitches of the garment, lacing it and stitching it together with the snap of his fingers. In moments, it finished and wrapped itself into a perfect square, and fell into his arms. Another snap and he could hear the trot of Cerberus outside of his hall.

 

“You respond to my command now? Such disloyalty,” he berated.

 

Cerberus whined and lowered its heads to the floor.

 

“Your place is at the gates,” he reminded the beast.

 

Another cowering whine and the dog retreated from the halls towards the cloisters once more. He sighed to himself at his firmness, but he found it necessary. As much as Makoto’s presence and arrival had affected him, he couldn’t have Mementos operate any differently. The garment was finished, and he was curious to see where Makoto was in her reading. He descended down the stairs, glancing over the railing as he did so to find that the goddess had practically devoured the tome like a hungry animal in the few hours he had left her alone. Still, his heart throbbed painfully when she staggered back slightly at the sound of his footsteps.

 

“I did not mean to frighten you,” he assured her.

 

“You startled me is all,” she said with a frown.

 

“Enjoyed the tome I see,” he mentioned before they make an argument out of nothing.

 

“Just about,” she muttered.

 

“I must have interrupted a good part,” he said with a slight laugh, alluding to her posture so fixed over that book.

 

“And what makes you say that?” Makoto pressed curiously.

 

“Are you not?” he asked.

 

“I am.”

 

“Let’s not make a debacle out of nothing, my love,” he sighed, “I’ve woven those garments I promised you.”

 

Makoto stood from where she was, but not before glancing down to note where she had left off. Akechi noticed this and smiled inwardly at her devoted nature towards knowledge. Perhaps he would win her over this way, although, he’d much prefer if he could be the one to win her heart.

 

“I hope they’re warm,” she said quietly.

 

Akechi was not prepared for her to slip her linen dress off one shoulder and pull it off of her so unceremoniously. His breath hitched before he could even stop her, hand flying to her hand before she could continue. Makoto stared at him strangely, wondering what it was that bothered him so. Did he not want her to change now? He couldn’t even mutter a word, too caught up in the reveal of skin, Akechi made sure that he was holding her still.

 

“Well? Am I to wear it or not?” she asked impatiently.

 

“It may be best that I leave you to change in privacy,” he rushed.

 

“Privacy…? You’re embarrassed,” she said in surprise.

 

“What of it?” he defended, “I simply mean to respect you and your volition.”

 

“And what of before?” she asked with a smirk, taking every opportunity to point at the abduction, “And what of your lips against mine?”

 

Akechi groaned at the mention of that. He hadn’t forgotten about it, even as he tried to suppress that want to continue for more.

 

“That was then, this is now,” he said with a sigh.

 

Makoto tilted her head at him slightly. Her wrist was warm where he was holding her, and she remembered back to the way he was holding her earlier and how warm she felt around his arms. She hummed whimsically at this new display of warmth in the god, something she would have least expected. It was in her nature to poke fun at it.

 

“Something tells me that’s not really the reason,” she said soft and slow.

 

“Calm whatever imagination-”

 

“No,” she said slowly, “Am I to assume that you don’t wish to see my body what with the way you were touching me earlier?”

 

Makoto leaned in close, pressing her body against his with only the new dress to shield them from one another. His jaw nearly dropped at her newly acquired personality within the hour that he was gone. A part of him was amused, but the part of him that wanted her to fall in love with him was desperate in proving himself, as much as he wanted to placate this banter of hers. He hadn’t had this much fun in a long time with any god, much less a goddess that he felt such attraction to. Just recalling the sound of Ann’s chirpy voice alongside Ryuji’s made his head spin in a horrible way.

 

It wouldn’t take long before he’d grow rough and possessive with her if she continued her trend. He would have liked to see that postponed as far as possible.

 

“Yes, I wanted to touch you,” he admitted, “And I want to see you, obviously. But, I am also admitting that I betrayed your wishes in bringing you here without permission and without your consent.”

 

Makoto raised a brow at such an answer.

 

“I must make amends for that, at the very least suffer your consequences if I am to gain your love,” he continued.

 

“My trust,” she attempted to correct him.

 

“You make claims that your love cannot be gained?” he said with a frown.

 

“I have made no such thing,” she replied airily, “Refrain from putting words in my mouth if you can.”

 

Akechi held his tongue. His hand left hers and pressed the garment into her arms. He allowed her whatever she wished, and if was to undress before him, so be it. There was nothing negative about the act, and he would be gaining much more than he would have anticipated, but there was some starkness about the act that made him nearly cripple at the thought. He felt desire rake through his body when Makoto paused for a moment to hold the garment up, just the anticipation of waiting for her to put the dress on made Akechi salivate.

 

She frowned, however, wondering why such a large gap existed between the shoulders and the back, and in her realization, she flushed at the dress. Still, it was a far better option than the summer linens she wore now. Suddenly aware of her meekness, she did decide to run behind one of the bookcases and change, saving her pride and Akechi from pouncing on her without a second thought. Makoto knew nothing of the latter, however.

 

When she finished slipping on the dress, she very much wished for her hair back. Alas, no such thing would come in a place where nothing grew. Makoto swallowed, folded her linen dress and hugged it to the front of her body. This new garment was warm, but it left so much of her back uncovered that she wondered the necessity of wearing anything at all. Akechi, however, was ecstatic. His face lit up when she waltzed out of hiding, shoulders hunched forward ever so slightly in her embarrassment as she made her way towards him.

 

“It fits,” she commented quietly.

 

“It’ll keep you warm,” he said with a nod.

 

“Indeed, I’m warmer now, much to my surprise,” she admitted.

 

Akechi inhaled when he reached out for her slowly. She didn’t seem to pull away as she did before, and he exhaled when he realized. Makoto simply looked up at him with wonder as his hand touched hers gently. It was a simple notion, but his heart was pounding, wondering if he could pull her even slightly closer without asking. He tried it, and she responded in kind.

 

She should’ve been surprised, but she liked the way that his arms felt around her. She wasn’t used to sleeves, but the dress he made her had them now and even she found herself frowning at not being able to feel his skin against her own. Makoto didn’t want to admit it but when he slowly wrapped his fingers around her arm, she wished that he would move them further down her body, trace along the outlines of where the dress met her skin and take her in. Alas, whatever respect he had found for her all of a sudden was met with her newly-budded impatience. Of course, neither of them could speak to such things.

 

Akechi was burning, and in holding her so gently, cradling her like he was so afraid to lose her, his body was being set on fire. How he longed to burn the dress on her body so that he could envelop her between his fingers. All the feelings of teasing that came before all of this made a simple embrace desensitized. What once had burned him to be near her had long been replaced by the desire to kiss her again and show her what would come after.

 

They stood like this for a moment, neither of them truly understanding what the embrace was supposed to be. For Makoto, it left much to be desired, and for Akechi, he could only hope that she would understand the implications of what would come if she dared even move an inch.

 

He broke away first to look at her. Her face turned into an inquisitive one, wondering why he was looking at her like that. Finally, with a pained expression, he spoke again.

 

“What did you think of the book?” he asked softly, fingers outlining the outer velvet of her sleeves.

 

“Interesting,” she said simply, “Perplexing. All feelings I have read about and could never properly encounter from before.”

 

“Strange answer,” he laughed.

 

“No, it’s not strange. It’s like reading about a place you’ve never been to before, and then experiencing it for the first time. Perhaps you forget what you have read all of a sudden because you’re so astounded from drinking up the sight of it finally.”

 

“Or it pales in comparison to what you have read,” he countered.

 

“That too. It spoke of a lot of things that I have been unaware of up until now. I am eager to return to it,” she said with the slightest smile.

 

“If that is what you wish-”

 

She frowned.

 

“If you want,” he corrected.

 

“Mmm. And what of you? What of your duties, god of Mementos?” she asked airily.

 

“Tend to the dead,” he sighed, “Not much excitement there, if you can imagine.”

 

“It sounds very boring,” she said with her brows furrowed.

 

“Yes, indeed,” he said painfully, face nearing hers, “And what of you, goddess of spring? Does it not bore you to tend to all living things?”

 

“N-no,” she sighed, his face nearing hers was doing such strange things to her all of a sudden, “It’s simply a thing I must do.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

The air between them became too painful to bear, but it was Makoto who leaned forward to close the distance between them. Her kiss was a gentle one on his lips, nothing to come from it but innocence. It wasn’t like the one he had given her earlier where he had crushed his lips against hers, tongue rushing to dance along hers. It was a wonder that Akechi didn’t forcefully do that this time, but he allowed her the chance to lead. Alas, she knew very little of what to do next.

 

“I thought about what you said,” she whispered against his lips, “I cannot do it.”

 

“Cannot,” he repeated breathlessly.

 

“I cannot seem to understand the meaning behind your words. And of the book that you gave me, it spoke of something about ‘love’ as you had mentioned before. I thought you should know that I read of it,” she continued.

 

“I knew you would read of it,” he said, “That’s why I gave it to you.”

 

“No,” she said, pulling away, “It’s just that… there have always been many things that I never understood. There will continue to be things as such. What I’ve done in the past was to drink up every means of knowing more. I needed to know more.”

 

Akechi pondered what she said for a moment. He pulled her waist towards him and dipped her low so that he could look at her seriously.

 

“You want to know of love,” he said, hope gracing his voice ever so slightly.

 

“I do… god of Mementos,” she said hoarsely, “Because I don’t know of it. I wish to know-”

 

“But you know little of what you are saying, what encompasses love entirely. You only know that it claims and possesses and-”

 

“And that’s why I’m asking that you show me.”

 

There were so many things that could be laced with love, all kinds of love that he was certain that she had felt before. But this one would be different, and this one would be intrusive. It would rip and tear them both apart to feel it together, and he wanted it from the moment he saw her.

 

“And what if I cannot?” he asked, voice breaking.

 

“Then, wouldn’t it be right to say that you don’t love me?” she asked innocently.

 

“Of course not,” he growled, “It would be no simple thing. Once I show you, it could break you entirely.”

 

“Such a painful thing, and all the more enticing,” she smiled at him.

 

“Gods, what has your sister hid from you?” he asked, hoping she wouldn’t answer.

 

“Whatever it is, she doesn’t want me finding it. Does she not want me to find love?” she asked.

 

“Do not ask me such things,” he scowled, “It pains me that I cannot answer them for you.”

 

“Then what of you, Goro?” she asked simply.

 

No one had ever been close enough to use his name like that. He had never been graced with opportunities where he could introduce himself as such, but he so wanted her to call him that. He wanted only her to call him that.

 

The problem was that he needed her to love him. He needed her to be in love with him, to belong to him. Akechi just wasn’t sure this was the way to do it. But here she was, consenting to it all even before she knew what it would entail. Alas, he would not be able to stop once she was in bed with him. He had to be gentle then.

 

He pulled her back upright, and she looked at him expectantly, hoping for an answer. He leaned in and kissed her as he did earlier, lips brushing her own and tongue slipping between her lips. His hands slid up her back, and Makoto edged forward in anticipation. He had granted her secret wish, and with it, she made the most enticing sound in her throat. In her permission for more, he trailed upwards, clutching the back of her neck so that he could kiss her harder and deeper. Makoto didn’t know what to do, responding in kind with only what her body told her. There was a rouse in the pit of her stomach, and all she wanted was more, and more.

 

“That’s only the beginning,” he groaned when he pulled away, “There will be much more, and you are certain of this?”

 

“Yes,” she replied.

 

“But you’re not in love with me,” he reconfirmed.

 

“I…”

 

Makoto looked at him with a hurt expression. Her cheeks dusted pink, it was obvious she didn’t know the answer to his claim. She didn’t know if the right answer was yes, or no. She wanted to allow herself to decide after all of it, but she had a feeling he would find that disagreeable even if she were to voice it.

 

“I don’t know,” she said honestly, “I just want to know.”

 

“And if you were to leave me, if you didn’t love me after all that’s been said and done…”

 

Her eyes widened more, afraid of the consequences that would come if she could not answer favorably.

 

“No matter.”

 

Within moments, she was off her feet and in his arms with no trouble. Akechi walked her over to that grand bed she had the pleasure of napping on and placed her right in the middle. He didn’t offer any more words out of fear that he would end up repulsing himself. Without another word, he pressed his lips to her jaw and then trailed down her neck. He wasn’t anticipating it, but Makoto arched her back into his body as if she wanted it just as much. He no longer wavered in his touches, grasping for whatever skin he could find and reveling in the warmth of her body.

 

He took one look at her dress and then yanked it down her chest, revealing her breasts to him. There was an ounce of brevity before he descended to the flesh there and raked it with bites and kisses. Makoto responded in kind, sighing and mewling at the pain that came with it. She had no idea what any of that meant, but there was some sort of pleasure in the way that he was attacking her body, fingers gripping at her hips or entangled in her hair. It left her breathless and craving more, and she couldn’t pinpoint _why_ it was happening all at once. An unfamiliar feeling crawled between her legs and settled right at her core. When it happened, she let out a cry.

 

Akechi pulled at the rest of her dress, pooling it around her hips. It was true then, he realized, that Makoto felt no shame in her body, likely from the way the gods viewed bodies in the heavens. It was much different from him when he interacted with no one ever, seeing another god in the flesh and being able to devour them to his pleasure was something he could not indulge in so freely. He drank up the sight of her, for he had seen no goddesses before her, and there would be none after that either. He wouldn’t need anyone after this.

 

Makoto instinctively moved her legs, likely unknowing that it was invitation to him. Akechi slipped his fingers down her body and touched the reveal of flesh there tentatively. She nearly jumped when his fingers caressed between her folds, a sensation she had never considered, lest know anything about. It made her whine ever so slightly, and he narrowed his brows to contain himself.

 

“Does it hurt?” he asked lowly.

 

“N-no, it’s just… strange,” she admitted.

 

He groaned at her innocence, dipping his lips down her stomach and then to her thighs. Makoto sighed at his touch there, fidgeting ever so slightly when his fingers returned to the center, massaging her clit in circles. The tent in his robes grew obvious now, but he ignored it to the best of his ability as he placated her body. He listened to the noises in her throat, the ones that she tried to hide, and the ones that she allowed him to hear. All of it at once drove him near the edge and in his anticipation, he slipped a finger inside of her. Makoto’s body seized up at the sensation, moaning loudly and gripping at his arms.

 

“You’ll only elongate the pain,” he told her, “You need to relax.”

 

“I-I can’t-! I can’t, you have to-”

 

“I can’t,” he gritted, “I need you. Hell, how long have I gone without knowing you…?”

 

Makoto whined, tears prickling the corners of her eyes as her body clamped tight around his finger, throbbing in hurt. All the while, Akechi could feel that she was wet, she simply just could not understand that allowing the pain for a moment would allow her pleasure soon enough. He pressed gentle kisses to her cheek and then to her lips again. It seemed as though once he did that, the tears slid down her face and she eased into his lips. His tongue coaxed her in such a way that she welcomed the pain at first, and then with it the pleasure grew. She pulled away breathing heavy, and he returned to his ministrations.

 

In time, her body adjusted to one of his fingers and he was able to enter another without her realizing it. Makoto’s eyes closed when that happened, arching into his body so that she could feel the friction of his thrusts. He continued with the come-hither motion, cock throbbing against her leg as he did so. He felt her body begin to crescendo, seizing and writhing as he rubbed his thumb along her clit and stroked her with his fingers.

 

“Hnn.. it feels good,” she admitted with flushed cheeks, “Why is that-”

 

“Hush, just give into it,” he told her quietly.

 

“More then,” she begged.

 

“Hell,” he growled.

 

Within moments, he picked up the pace of his thrusts, allowing her to hold onto him as he coaxed her orgasm. Makoto let out the softest sigh, and then a trail of broken moans. She had never felt her body respond to anything like that before, but it was just innate to cry out as she felt her body release. Akechi grit his teeth as he watched her writhe beneath him, enjoying the pleasure he just gave her, knowing that he could’ve so easily broken her and ripped her in half if he simply allowed himself to give into his monstrosity. Makoto’s voice rang in his ears, and he could not unhear it. The sensation of it all at once hit him so hard that he had never felt his heart pound so thoroughly as if it would burst through his chest and he might die like the stars.

 

“Makoto,” he whispered, lips grazing hers as she laid there entangled with his body.

 

All of a sudden, her fingers slid up his arm and brushed along his neck. Akechi’s expression changed for a moment as he wondered where the touch came from. Lacing her fingers through his hair, Makoto pulled him down towards her face, mimicking his rough kiss. Her tongue brushed along his lips, and he could only groan from all the built-up tension in his body.

 

“More,” she demanded, voice low and husky.

 

Akechi was in complete shock, analyzing her command.

 

“It’s my turn to return the favor, isn’t it?” she asked, lips against his jaw.

 

He afforded one glance at her face, reading the expression as a glaze of lust and desire, and he knew he was doomed.


	4. spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> because i want you to love me back

A breath was all he could afford before Akechi’s descent. Tugging back in forth between his desire to further mark his claim, or to release her before his wrath could be known, Akechi laid hovering over Makoto as he contemplated this inner struggle. The heave of her chest, the half-lidded eyes, the slight writhing of her body as she aimed for any sort of friction were all signs that he fought to respond to. He could not pinpoint why it affected him so.

 

He placated her with slight touches, running his long fingers down her chest, and containing a moan whenever she’d arch into them as he brushed them against the buds of her nipples. Even worse was when he fought to go lower, and she gently tugged at his wrist so that he would, raising her hips slightly in a reprise of when she was able to release. His doubt for her obvious attraction was unfounded, but Akechi seemingly grew a sense of humbleness the moment she offered to return the favor. He struggled internally to appease her want, but he would have preferred nothing more than to devour her as she laid in his arms.

 

Still, the desire to go slow just could not match to his want to wreak havoc upon her body. And so, with the slightest breath of reluctance to give, Akechi dove down to kiss her again. The taste of her lips were so sweet, nothing like any fruit that could be bore from trees, nothing like what the gods might offer in the heavens. He would stay here in his realm of cold and dark if he could drink from the nectar of her lips forever. But there were better parts of her as well that he was delighted to find. Nothing compared to when she reciprocated.

 

The palm of her hand against his cheek made his heart flip flop in his chest. A brush of her fingers through his hair made him melt into her touch even further. Was he seducing her, or was he the one prone to her spell? As much as he hoped to draw out her desires, he had much to teach her. If she was so fond of feeling every part of him, then he’d make it known how it felt best.

 

He reached for her hand and moved it in a trail down his chest, steadying his gaze upon her as he did so before she captured his member in the palm of her hand. He held her there for a moment before allowing her to venture as she wished, and as if by nature, her hand tugged upward at the skin there in curiosity. Akechi hissed at the touch, contorting that with a gasp and a moan as Makoto grabbed at him whimsically. Through the grit of his teeth, he wondered how he might sustain himself _if_ he ever entered her folds. There was the slightest glow in her eyes when she realized that touching him there was the equivalent of her own pleasure. Her method of returning the favor was possible.

 

Even then, he forced her hand to slow down, whimpering quietly when he had to draw her away entirely from him.

 

“Does it not feel good?” she asked with the slightest worry.

 

“It does. I cannot begin to fathom how good it feels, but I wish to share in equal fervor,” he explained softly, kissing her revealed forehead.

 

“But you’ve already given me something,” she pondered.

 

He couldn’t help but smile at the notion of her innocence. How often did he wonder about that double edged sword, but in the end, it was her innocence that drew him back to her. The freedom of her expression was uninhibited and perfect at its ignorance, and it allowed him the slightest room to breathe knowing that he didn’t have to enlighten her at every turn. He simply had to show her.

 

“Do you trust me?” he asked with hesitation.

 

“In what regard?” she asked in return.

 

“Then you don’t,” he noted.

 

“No, I… I trust that you won’t hurt me,” she said softly, “Amongst other things.”

 

“We’ll reconvene on ‘other things’ afterwards,” he promised, “For now, I need you to give in to me.”

 

Makoto flushed at the statement. Hadn’t she already? But if he was offering to make her come again, she wasn’t in the right mind to say no. It was pleasurable, and nothing she had ever felt before. Perhaps in their discovery, he’d find other ways to make her feel as she never had. His expression seemed to promise that, one so much softer than she might have ever anticipated from the god of death. She wondered how much of this loneliness and horrible behavior might have changed if he simply had someone. But she still didn’t feel like she could be that someone for him. She valued her own autonomy too much, and to serve as his queen without interaction would prove to be suffocating. And yet, she felt her heart reach for him whenever she thought of him living in the realm alone.

 

With everything in consideration, all things said and done, Makoto changed her mind.

 

“I trust you,” she said wholeheartedly, voice higher than usual in some sort of perplexed embarrassment, as if she was signing away her heart to him.

 

He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, lingering in his hover when he pulled away for a moment before he turned rough in his ministrations. His hands returned to its greedy form, this time, he slid the rest of her dress down her hips and she was on full display for him. Even though Makoto recognized that she didn’t necessarily feel shame or embarrassment from her body, some sort of resolve within her made her reach to hide herself from him.

 

“No,” he held her wrists high above her head, “Not with me.”

 

When his grip untightened, Makoto allowed her hands to rest above her head, watching Akechi hungrily grab at her breasts and then slip his tongue around one of her nipples. He took his time, waiting for the feedback of her moans and gasps as he sucked and nipped at her skin. From where she was laying, she could see him on full display for the first time. The striped horns on his head made her curious to touch them. But his arms were something that she was completely astounded by in their first encounter, completely soot black from his hands, and then the color faded into that of his skin as it went up his elbow. It was something she could have never seen outside of her realm of the heavens, but it did not detract from his attractiveness. If anything, Makoto found him even more enticing because of those markings. He was just so different from the standard god.

 

His mahogany eyes grazed over hers, catching her in an unexpected loss of words and embarrassment from watching him. He smirked up at her before returning to his kisses for a moment longer, and then trailing down her navel. She sighed loudly as he did this, very aware that he was headed to that center of pleasure once more and her mind became strung in excitement.

 

Akechi’s hands gripped at her hips, ruminating in the flesh of her body, and from simply touching another. Somewhere within him, he just knew he didn’t want anyone else after this. He was happy and content with just her, if she’d simply allow it. Alas, rooted in his thoughts, he realized that they didn’t have all the time in the world, and that he had no patience for the way he could feel her cunt throbbing for his touch. He slid his fingers over her entrance, delighted to find that she was still warm and wet from earlier. Makoto let out the quietest whine when he felt her there, and he groaned in realization. She was turning out to be a greedy creature, and no wonder, if her sister was Sae. He grinned at the fortunate fact that he desired feeding that greed more than anything else.

 

Makoto watched in wonder when he tugged off every other garment that hid him from her. The head of his member protruded and hung very still and stiff when she first saw him completely naked. For reasons she could not explain, her mouth watered at the sight, and wondered what would come next. Akechi did something very strange, leaning forward to brush his thumb to her lips, dragging the lower lip down ever so slightly as he stared down at her. Makoto returned his stare, confused as to his notion. Only when he turned away from her to prod his member close to her core did she realize her innate gift was reading his expressions.

 

She sensed a sadness in his eyes, there was a feeling of longing with how he stared at her, but she simply couldn’t seem to draw a conclusion without any words. So she asked.

 

“Why do you look at me so?” she asked.

 

“I simply thought that a glance might spare the burn in my throat,” he said with the slightest choke.

 

“And why does your throat burn?” she asked with a tilt in her head.

 

“Reasons I cannot comprehend,” he sighed, “I have never felt this way.”

 

“Is it a bad feeling?” she continued with her questions.

 

“It is, but it comes and goes. It leaves when I come close to being able to possess you,” he said, punctuating his point with his lips against her jaw and then her neck.

 

“Nngh… L-like this then?” she asked with a whine.

 

“Yes… so many questions,” he sneered against her skin, “And when it does return-”

 

He leaned to kiss her passionately, capturing her tongue in his own and enveloping her in a fiery desire.

 

“-Is when I pull away,” he said.

 

Makoto seared her lips against his, capturing his tongue between her lips to return that favor. She smiled when he moaned softly, and he could feel the curl of her lips as he did so. His hands returned quietly to their exploration as he allowed her to lead him in the tango of her mouth, experimenting as she went. All along, she followed the noises he made, and she’d make them in turn whenever he would roam a bit too far. The act all at once was so intoxicating, it really did resemble the most beautiful indulgence that Makoto had yet to experience. In Akechi’s heart, something was changing and there was a warm ball of pain and tenderness in his chest that he could only equate to love.

 

He compared it to when his skin burned in rage, or when his body grew numb and cold in his sadness. He had never felt so alive touching Makoto, a potion so intricate that it had seeped into his veins, nested there, and festered. The worst would come, he knew, when he would bury himself finally within her, never wanting to let go. In this knowledge, he prolonged it as much as he could, but she still rubbed her body so sinfully against his in her nature. He couldn’t resist much longer.

 

“I have to have you,” he whispered to her.

 

“Mmm,” she muttered along his ear.

 

In her own daze, Makoto melted against his hand when his fingers returned. Already, she was churning her body like she was an animal in heat, awaiting further friction and attention. He couldn’t help but grin at her, replacing his fingers with his cock.

 

“It’ll be different this time,” he mused softly, “Much different.”

 

“Nnn… as long as you make… that.” she murmured shyly.

 

“Yes, I’ll make you come,” he smirked at her, nipping at the base of her throat.

 

As if in anticipation, she clutched onto his arms tightly, body heaving softly as she awaited what would come. He felt his heart clench in his chest, and he reached for her wrists. Her hands immediately relaxed and he pressed it to his chest.

 

“I wasn’t lying,” he told her, “Do you feel how hard my heart pounds for you?”

 

“Gods don’t have hearts,” she frowned slightly.

 

“We choose our forms,” he continued, “I kept it around so that I might feel something other than nothing. And you have as well.”

 

Makoto’s eyes widened in realization, never reveling in the idea that it might be an indicator of her feelings. Akechi reached down gingerly to caress her face, almost too afraid to go near her chest. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t felt it when he sucked at her flesh there. But in this unseen moment, he was faced with the reality that it might not be pounding as painfully as his. They stayed like that -her hand against his chest, and his blackened ones tracing up and down her body in waves of anticipation.

 

“How does mine feel?” she asked finally, voice shaking slightly as she reached for those hands of his.

 

She could feel him tensing up as she neared his hand to her own heart, smiling as she did so. She pressed a small kiss to his knuckle before leading him to touch her. He nearly jumped when he felt her heartbeat. It was a relief to feel another like him, but her heart pounded against his hand. He watched her expression turn shy and distant, and he dove down quick to kiss her lips.

 

The head of his member inched in, and Makoto writhed painfully beneath him. Akechi clutched her head to his own, sighing softly as she raked her nails against the burning of his skin. To enter further, he captured her mouth again, and as much as she gave in, he could feel her breathing intently against him as she adjusted to the pain. She gasped in pain when he reached a certain threshold, and he grit his teeth as he felt her seize up entirely. He brushed comforting kisses all over her, and with time, Makoto relaxed into his girth, allowing him to slide all the way in. She adjusted quickly, the precome of her anticipation coating the base of him as he sat inside of her. He thrust out, and then back in, throbbing as he watched her body respond in kind to the motion.

 

“Goro, do that again,” she moaned.

 

“Hell, when you say it like that,” he groaned in return, quickening a short burst of thrusts to build up to his release.

 

Makoto’s body relaxed completely as he did this, surrendering to the pleasure she felt all around her. She felt like she was on earth again, laying and bathing in the sun as he made love to her this way. The kisses of the warmth were now replaced by his lips, and the brush of the occasional gust of wind were the brush of his fingers all over her. She might get used to it, she thought, him buried inside of her like this.

 

His thrusts became elongated, and then neared to a slow speed. Akechi felt his brows narrow as her lips quivered at the lack of proper friction. He picked up speed again, and her face contorted another way. In this blurry tango of love, he simply responded to her body, and she told him where to go to follow her in the dance. Lost in that wave of pleasure, Akechi nearly felt bliss inside of her, the pang in his heart dying down as he neared his release. He never had to do anything about it alone, but it was all a sign that his heart had more or less stopped beating when nothing happened. Makoto alone had revitalized him, his heart jumping out of his chest when he had first laid eyes on her in that grassy field. As he traversed the ends of the world with her, his heart might not ever stop pounding in his chest.

 

He feared for his release almost, and his body trembled when Makoto began to coo in her throat. Her moans rose in volume, more high pitched, and needier. Akechi could come just from the sound of her voice, but he paid attention to how she moved beneath him, hyperfocusing on the way her cunt throbbed with him inside of her. Makoto sighed, a sure sign that she was reaching her release again, and this time, the build up was finally enough. He spilled inside of her for the first time, mouth ajar as he let out a silent moan at first, trailing into a breathy one. He overheard the slightest sound of surprise from her, unaware that he could make a noise like that to show his pleasure. The noise made her turn her head away, focusing the last bits of seconds left before she also reached her orgasm.

 

There was no price to pay, for Makoto would bear only if she wanted to. Such were the ways of the gods, but as he sat inside of her, hands imprinted all over her body and holding her hips, he wondered how wretched he might be to truly enforce her to stay. Makoto turned her body inwards, falling asleep with the smallest smile on her face against his arm. The black of the flesh there was all he could stare at as he remembered what he had just done to the goddess of spring.

 

\------

 

Makoto awoke to her body entangled in the silk sheets of the bed. She writhed comfortably, but within the span of time that she had surrendered to Akechi, she had also noticed the loneliness of his absence. She peered around the room, noticing that the chaise where he had lounged before was how they had left it. Slipping on the dress he made her, she sought to find him.

 

It wasn’t long until she encountered Cerberus, sleeping in guard at the cloisters of doors. Makoto dare not enter that area without Akechi, but a part of her was still curious what it might be that he was so afraid to show her. She dare not disobey, but it was in her curious nature to venture further in that direction. She retraced her footsteps the first time she had wandered, noticing that the flowers that had slipped through her hair had been swept into the pool of dark fog in the lake.

 

She stepped further than she did the last time, and she didn’t feel the angry arm of Akechi reach for her before she could go further. In this realization, she quickened her steps towards the doors, glancing back every time she ventured further. Makoto didn’t feel it until Cerberus growled in his sleep that Akechi had been watching her at the end of the hall. She watched him with her eyes wide, more fearful that she had lost his trust than being caught for potentially running off. His face didn’t seem to change when he approached her, nor did he run to grab her arm again when she reached for the final door.

 

Makoto could sense something was off, but for the sake of all that had been said and done, she stayed without entering through the cloisters of doors before he approached closer.

 

“Do you not wish to witness what’s inside?” he peered at her.

 

“I… am curious more than anything else,” she admitted quietly, “I don’t wish to disobey you.”

 

He tilted his head ever so slightly at her new behavior.

 

“If you are to be my queen, then should you not peer inside?” he motioned.

 

“I’m afraid,” she said.

 

“Nothing to be afraid of-”

 

“No, I’m afraid of the consequences.”

 

His brows knitted as he pondered what she meant.

 

“You believe me to be an angry and vengeful god?” he pressed.

 

“Something of that sort, yes,” she said without looking at him.

 

“And what proof do you have that I am?” he pondered.

 

She had nothing, it was simply an assumption. He didn’t stop her when she pressed her hand to the handle of the door. His face didn’t change when she pried it open, and it was her turn to be perplexed. Still, she followed through, opening the door to the stairs that he had used to travel to the realm above. It really was that simple, and she had every chance to leave if she wanted to. Her face glanced over at him, recognizing the hurt in his expression.

 

“Knowledge is power,” he mused quietly, “There lies your exit to your home.”

 

Cerberus whined quietly.

 

“You’re… you’re allowing me to leave,” she said in realization.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you not love me? Was all of that earlier unsavory-”

 

“Never. I would never think of such a thing,” he said with fervor, “And yet… you have shown me a love I might never feel again. A love that traverses time and eternity.”

 

“Then why would I not stay?” she asked again.

 

“I cannot ask that of you, cannot expect you to stay,” he sighed painfully, reaching for her face one last time.

 

“Why…?”

 

_Because I want you to love me back._

 

He looked away from her. Makoto hugged the dress he had mended just for her, touched the marks he had left on her body, the tenderness of her core where she had enveloped him. All of it was for naught, she thought.

 

He turned to walk away, making only a few steps before he heard the slam of the cloister doors. Makoto stood in front of the exit, staring up at him with a determined look. She watched his face relax, and for the first time, she witnessed his gentle smile. She couldn’t help but laugh softly, returning it happily as her heart leapt in her chest. Akechi reached for her again, only a step too late.

 

The doors rumbled loud and fast, having been left open for a second too long, the god of seas and the god of the skies peered in. A bright glow emitted from under the doors before the cloisters broke open. Akechi’s eyes widened in realization - Akira and Ryuji had arrived for his queen.

 

He felt the fire of rage return to his body, a blue flame rising all around as he realized what had happened. Makoto took one look at him, fear overcoming her as the gods pulled her through the collapse of the door.

 

The last thing Akechi would see was his goddess of spring reaching out for him with her hand before Akira snapped a bolt of thunder down over Mementos. The ceiling of earth crumbled over top of him, crushing Akechi’s body into the ground as they made off with Makoto.

 

\------

 

Makoto trembled awake when she felt the warmth of the sun. Her eyes peered around her, recognizing the clouds in the sky, and the golden gates off to the distance.

 

“That didn’t take long,” Akira said with a soft smile.

 

“Where am I?” she demanded immediately.

 

“We’re on our way to see Sae, that’s all you need to know,” Akira told her.

 

“Bring me back,” she said firmly.

 

Ryuji looked at her as if she had grown two heads like Cerberus.

 

“A grateful expression might be in order,” he said with a frown, “No one heard the end of it from Sae. Not to mention what’s happened to the mortals down below.”

 

Makoto stared at him in disbelief.

 

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

 

“You saw it briefly, didn’t you? Nothing’s grown since your absence,” Akira explained, “Sae’s stopped harvest altogether and the mortals that usually bring offerings to the gods are slowly dying.”

 

“Sis… she’s-”

 

“We had to do something about it,” Ryuji sighed heavily, “I can’t believe Akechi would’ve been so bold as to-”

 

“Akechi?” she cut in.

 

“Akechi, God of Mementos,” Akira said.

 

Makoto stayed quiet, ruminating at the fact that he had lied about his name. It didn’t bother her so much when she thought about it, and yet, it was enough to make her wonder what else he might have fabricated to make her heart begin to yearn for him. With each inch of distance they were putting between Mementos and the heavens, Makoto could feel her body tremble without him. What was happening?

 

The chariot arrived at the gates before they could say anymore. Makoto was silent on the way up the flight of golden stairs. Had she been gone so long, she wondered, to where the steps were no longer easy to climb. Or perhaps, the time she had spent in Mementos had suddenly put a spin on her perspective that this could all have just been a lie all along.

 

As if sensing her presence, Makoto heard the rush of Sae as she flocked to her sister. She overheard her sister stifle down a cry as she clutched her body hard and close to her. Makoto felt her heart sink when she felt her sister tremble slightly, an emotion she had never seen in her sister.

 

“I thought I had lost you forever,” she choked, pulling away to look at her.

 

Makoto looked at her with a sad expression, fingers patting her cheek softly.

 

“There’s no such thing,” Makoto assured her, “I’m fine-”

 

“Did he hurt you?” Sae asked eyeing her.

 

Makoto froze, body glowing warmly as she remembered all the marks he had left in the wake of his pleasure. She couldn’t lie to her sister, and she didn’t have the time to anyway. Sae saw the red all along her neck and chest.

 

“Fucking _bastard-”_

 

“Sae, it wasn’t anything-”

 

“What did he feed you?” she asked further.

 

“Nothing! I-”

 

“You’ve been gone for months and he fed you nothing?!” Sae hissed, “Hard to believe for the devil-”

 

“Don’t call him that, sis-”

 

“Leave us,” she turned to Ryuji and Akira.

 

Ryuji sighed, raising his brows as he disappeared instantly, glad that the ordeal was over and done with.

 

“Makoto, listen to me,” Sae said carefully, reaching for her face, “You need to tell me everything that he did.”

 

Somewhere between the time that she had been gone, Makoto had grown shameful. When her sister pulled at the dark garments on her body, she pulled away in embarrassment. Having shared her body with Akechi, there was some innate feeling that no one should ever see her in so blatantly bare than he. Sae could sense this, and she immediately reached for the swell of her stomach, sighing a breath of relief when she didn’t feel any potential life there.

 

“So he didn’t-”

 

“No, he did.”

 

Sae’s hand reached for her face, tears welling up as she thought of her sister’s innocence stripped from her.

 

“Sae, nothing _bad_ happened,” she told her, “I’m here and in one piece-”

 

“It doesn’t matter! He took you from me! And for the first time you expect me to be grateful that your fertility-”

 

“Sis… I read the most wonderful and terrible things when I was there. Books you wouldn’t imagine. And he was kind to me,” she told her breathily, “Everything was okay, he was… kind.”

 

Sae stood frozen as Makoto relayed this information to her. She took a step back from her, unwilling to touch her. Makoto looked at her with slight hurt and confusion.

 

“You’ve read from the Mementos library?” she repeated to her.

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

\------

 

An eternity seemingly passed before Akechi woke. Cerberus climbed through the rumble, licking its tongues all over his face to wake him. He groaned quietly, recovering from the pain instantly, and slowly moved to recover what had happened. With a wave of his hand, the rocks crumbled back into place.

 

It started as a rumble, but soon, Akechi let out a scream so loud it shook the foundation of earth above and below him. He clutched his head in pain as he realized Makoto had been torn from him. He felt a searing burn overcome his body as he writhed and seethed in anger. It might have been weeks or months since she had been taken, and he was already being torn at the seams. Nothing stopped him from procuring his own chariot of the dead to march on the gates of the heavens and tear it all down to take her back. That is, if Akira and Ryuji hadn’t shown up again.

 

“Awake, are ya?” Ryuji said with a sneer.

 

“Easy, Akechi-”

 

They were in his realm now, and another wave of his hand and the both of them flew to the walls, bodies cracking into the earth.

 

“How perfect. You came to collect your consequences. Good,” he grinned maniacally.

 

“Oh, shut it-”

 

Ryuji’s body clenched further into the wall when Akechi snapped his fingers, causing the god of seas to choke ever so slightly.

 

“How will you have it? I rip your immortality from you or-”

 

“Akechi, at ease,” Akira rushed, “We come bearing news of Makoto.”

 

Akechi turned to the god, curious to what _news_ he considered good enough to traverse down the steps of Mementos.

 

“What news of my beloved except that you plan to keep her from me?” he seethed dangerously.

 

“Your _beloved_ has seemingly extracted some forbidden knowledge or fruit of some sort from Mementos. You knew what you did, knew what you were planning,” Akira accused.

 

“She chose to read from the Library of Mementos,” he rebutted.

 

“And you made no attempt to stop her either-” Ryuji coughed.

 

“You wound me,” Akechi snarled, “I did nothing to manipulate her. She expressed intention to read, and I simply gave her the means to make that choice.”

 

“Whatever that means, Sae’s upset about it,” Ryuji said, “If you ever want to see Makoto again, she insists that you make your ascent to the heavens with us.”

 

Akechi nearly broke down in a laugh.

 

“So she wants to bargain with love, does she?” he smirked, “One fool to another.”

 

And the god of Mementos crackled the earth with his laughter.

 

\------

 

With all the proper arrangements, Akechi agreed to enter the heavens. Neither Akira nor Ryuji made an attempt to restrain him, knowing his powers were limited the further he left the plains of the earth, and his realm below it. He nearly hissed at the sun as it shined down on him. There was nothing painful about it, if anything, it only reminded him of when he first Makoto. But that in and of itself was another painful reminder about where her fate rested.

 

It took Sae every fiber of her being to not throttle Akechi out of the heavens. Her lower lip quivered at his appearance though, further noticing that his eyes drew quickly to Makoto by her side. A white dress clung to her body, folds and creases outlining where he had touched her last, marks all but disappeared and faded. He felt his throat burn again as he watched her from the distance, knowing any attempt he could make to capture her in his arms would end in him being thrown back into Mementos. He behaved, looking at her longingly still, wanting so much to feel her in his arms again.

 

Makoto returned his heated glances with a soft distant smile. Her own heart was caught in her chest as she looked at him - something Sae clearly wasn’t happy about. She cut immediately to the chase.

 

“I could go on and on, _god of Mementos,_ about the extent of my wrath, but I won’t since I don’t want to occupy anymore of my time staring at an eyesore,” she started.

 

“Strong start, Sae,” he smirked, referring to her like an old friend, “Get to the point then. Or shall I begin?”

 

“Whether it was your intention or not, Makoto has now consumed from Mementos in some way or another.”

 

Akechi stayed silent.

 

“So you’re aware of this,” she pressed.

 

“And of this conclusion you’ve come to, what are your intentions?”

 

Sae sighed, reaching for Makoto’s hand as she did so.

 

“You still claim ignorance? Makoto, tell me. Between the heavens here with me or the depths of the underworld, where would you prefer to live?” Sae asked.

 

Makoto shifted uncomfortably. It wasn’t a question that was brought up by Sae between the time of her realization and now, and she felt compelled to answer honestly as she always did. But even in the depths of her love for her sister, she felt drawn to Akechi. Whatever knowledge or consumption she had procured in Mementos had somehow changed her entirely. In her heart, she felt that she belonged with him.

 

“Mementos,” she said quietly.

 

Sae seethed at the answer, unable to accept it as she rose from her seat. Hearing it for the first time was more painful than predicting it. Akechi’s brows rose slightly at the answer, surprised that her heart had shifted so.

 

“You tricked her,” Sae accused, “You did this-”

 

“Sis… I want to go. There’s no trickery in this,” Makoto told her, her hand pressed to her shoulder.

 

“You think I can accept this?!” she cried, turning to her, “I’d sooner let the Earth continue to rot and die than accept this!”

 

Onlookers finally realized the validity of Sae’s wrath. The earth had begun to wilt since Makoto’s disappearance. Where harvest once bloomed unendingly had turned into a drought and barren wasteland. The gods knew of this, and yet still, they chose to abstain from interfering. It was then that Akira stepped forward.

 

“The gods offer a bargain, goddess of harvests,” Akira said slowly, “We spare the mortals and leave them to fend for themselves for one half of the year. The other half of the year will return with its fertility.”

 

Sae glanced at Akira through her tears.

 

“Half a year to spend with Makoto?” she asked.

 

“It would seem the only way that everyone is happy,” he shrugged, “Would it not?”

 

Akechi nearly died thinking about the time he would be away from Makoto. His heart wrenched in his chest as he calculated half of eternity. He wouldn’t have it.

 

“No, I want her or nothing. Let the earth die for all I care,” he snarled.

 

“Goro,” Makoto mouthed to him.

 

He looked at her sullenly, knowing very well that if he were to have her at all, it would be this way or no way. He listened to the pounding of his heart as he looked upon her, all the rage that had been pent up seemingly melted away. Akechi forgot everything when he saw her. Even at a distance, the appearance of the goddess calmed him, and he thought about an existence where he could not be with her at all.

 

“A quarter of the year in the heavens,” he muttered quietly.

 

“No,” Sae gritted.

 

“You know that half is fair for both,” Akira pressed the both of them.

 

Akechi turned to look at Makoto, and she nodded slowly. He groaned under his breath just from glancing at her again. To spare the earth meant nothing to him, and yet if it meant that he could see her again, feel her again.

 

“Do as you will. Just let her return to my side,” Akechi muttered lowly.

 

Akira nodded, and then turned to Makoto.

 

“I’m afraid your disappearance has been for much too long. I propose we mark the time you are here now as spring and you begin your half year with your sister now.”

 

“Then… I cannot be in Mementos for the next six months?” she asked quietly.

 

Sae leaned her head against her arm, unhappy with the result to say the least, but she relented still.

 

“Sae, may I ask for a moment alone with the god of Mementos?”

 

Akira turned immediately to leave. Sae was hesistant to move, but did so with time. Even so, she feared that her sister would leave in secret for Mementos, but there was nothing she could do to prevent that. The die was cast. When she finally moved to leave, Makoto ran towards Akechi.

 

He collapsed when he collected her in his arms, raining kisses down her face as he held her tightly.

 

“How long has it been?” he asked, clutching her head close to him, “So much so that your hair has grown back already?”

 

“You noticed,” Makoto choked out a laugh, “I told you it’s like a weed.”

 

“I swear to you,” he breathed, “I’ll find a way to keep you forever.”

 

“We have forever,” she reminded him.

 

“Forever’s not enough, my love,” he agonized.

 

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Talking to you like this for the first time has become so normal because of the time between. When I see you again, my love will grow again.”

 

He held her face to his, lips crushing against hers hungrily.

 

“Once more,” he begged quietly to her ear, “Let me feel you once more.”

 

She pulled him away from her gently.

 

“We can bear a little longer,” she told him, palm to his cheek, “Just a little bit.”

 

He groaned quietly at the inability to express the extent of his love, wilting ever so slightly when she brushed her hand down his body to emphasize her point.

 

“I can’t-”

 

“You’ve lived before me,” she said with a small incredulous laugh, “What’s another six months without me?”

 

“Death,” he sighed painfully, “Will me to bear through it. Wish me to suffer.”

 

“I’m not such a petulant goddess-”

 

“It’s the only way,” he mused, “So long as you wish it, I would be happy to grant it.”

 

Makoto looked at him as he pulled away from her, lacing his fingers into the length of her hair as he looked upon her for what felt like the last time. Finally, she pressed her lips to his in a ghostlike touch.

 

“I wish to see you when spring ends,” she said, voice trembling, “Will you grant my wish?”

 

Akechi’s eyes turned resolute, and he kissed her one last time.

 

“Yes, anything.”


	5. winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hold on, we're going home

Spring was painful to say the least for Akechi. But no one in the heavens or earth would have expected any less. He couldn’t forsake his duties any longer, and whatever time he had left, he used to sulk alone. Of course, this only made time go by slower and slower. At some point, he wondered if he might make Mementos a bit more welcoming for when Makoto did return. With the flick of his wrist, all the books that rested on the shelves of his bed chambers were moved into another cavern. He erected shelves that were easy for her to reach and lined the new walls with the books. What little joy he received from doing small things like this in preparation for her return was only a mere taste of what it would be like when he could finally hold her in her arms again. 

 

He looked upon the room when it was finished, erecting places where she might find comfortable to sit, and then finally realized with a frown that she might still not like it. There were no windows to the world above, and he kept it that way. But even if he were able to split a hole in the ground so that she could peer towards the heavens, he feared she might grow envious of the gods again and wish to return. But he also considered how unhappy she might be when she ran out of books to plow through, and quietly, these brooding in securities grew in the place of Akechi’s heart. With time away from her, it was no wonder that these fears came. He even wondered if  _ he  _ were the selfish one to have conducted such a thing in the first place, stealing her from where she thrived the most and taking her for himself.

 

Of course it was selfish, he frowned. But the die was cast, and she would be destined to be with him for half the year as promised. No matter what it took, he would do everything he could to make her love him just as agonizingly as he did. But these desires still pricked like a thorn to his heart, and the time he couldn’t be with Makoto simply made them grow twofold. She said that he had lived without her before and he would do just as easily, but that simply wasn’t true. How often he had dreamed of someone like her, plagued with the thought that someone might love him one day. That possessive love that he came to look forward to never showed, and Akechi grew more and more bitter as time went on, feeling as though he deserved this love after being alone for so long. 

 

In hindsight, he wondered if he  _ chose _ Makoto, sweeping her off the grounds of the earth like that so that he could make her his. These doubts came when he ran his fingers along the spines of the books along the wall, and his eyes wandered to the dark ceilings above him that went on forever. It was times like these that he begrudgingly went to sleep, either clutching desperately onto the torn fabric of her summer dress she had left behind, or imagining her body above him in the darkness as she pressed her sweet kisses along his cheek. It was pure torment. 

 

This was a wound that time could not heal. He wondered if it would become more painful or would the pain ease with each time he grew used to letting her go. But there was something even gods could not stop, and soon, time brought his goddess of spring back to him. 

 

She was carted back by Akira, and whatever displeasure he had about Makoto with another god was quickly replaced with pure joy of seeing her again. His heart pounded in his chest, and his hand reached out for her between the portal of Mementos and the earth. With a heavy sigh, Akira watched the portal between the two realms melt for a moment, and Makoto slipped through it without another look behind her. In a split second, she melted into Akechi’s arms, clutching him against her as he sank to his knees, just like the last time they had parted. His hands trembled when they finally reached for her face, shaking as he took in the sight of her with heavy breaths. She couldn’t help but laugh quietly at his desperation, smile widening when he returned with his own laughter. His lips sought her and never wanted to pull away, taking in the warmth of her body for the first time in months before it would fade away. Akechi’s hands smoothed over the summer dress she wore, touching all the curves on her body that he would claim later, and settling at the back of her neck where her hair engulfed all of him. 

 

“Say something to me,” he whispered against her lips, “Anything.”

 

“I missed you,” she said quiet and shy.

 

“You enjoyed your time with your sister, I’m sure,” he pointed out.

 

“I did, but that does not mean I cannot miss you either,” she mused.

 

“Then, I shall be grateful that you missed me,” he agreed.

 

He tucked his chin on the junction of her shoulder and neck, hiding his face in the waterfall of her hair as he took in the scent of warm sunshine. He had so much to tell her, and yet, the time they had together was limited, and he was already getting ahead of himself that he might stumble on those words.

 

“Time without you has been painful,” he growled quietly.

 

“I can imagine. Being alone down here is quite dreadful,” she said sympathetically, “But I’m here now. And you’re not dead.”

 

“Because I promised,” he said with a frown, “Although, it might as well have been that I was dead. I had been for a very long time until you rescued me.”

 

“Rescued you?” she scoffed quietly, “Strange way to put the turn of events between us.”

 

“I want to keep you forever,” he sighed, changing the subject, “Why can’t I?”

 

Makoto didn’t answer, sliding her hands down his back in a soothing motion before she pulled away from him. She simply smiled at him, taking in the sight of him for the first time in months, and putting her hand to his cheek. He turned ever so slightly to press a kiss to her palm.

 

“I have much to show you,” he whispered.

 

He pulled her close to him, hand along her waist as he led her to the new erected library up the stairs and down the long corridor. She began to shiver again, just like her first time here, and he made a mental note to bring out the dresses he made for her in the time that she was gone. When the heavy doors opened, displaying all the books along the endless wall, he felt her body tighten and a small gasp escape her mouth.

 

“How far does it go?” she asked in awe, “I might not ever get to read all of this before I need to return in the spring.”

 

He grumbled quietly, wishing she’d never talk of spring ever again. 

 

“We have all the time in the world,” he told himself more than her, “I only wish to be with you in your entirety.”

 

“You’ll bore yourself watching me read for hours then?” she mused.

 

“If that is how you wish to spend your time, I am eager to grant it,” he told her.

 

“You’re not  _ granting  _ it. It’s not yours to allow,” she replied with a frown, “Is it not so much better that I  _ choose _ to want you with me?” 

 

He pondered her words for a moment, forgetting that she was not a selfish and possessive creature like he was. 

 

“Are you choosing me?” he asked, “In your curse to return to me for half the year, you are choosing me as you choose Sae the other half?”

 

Makoto sighed.

 

“It seems as though, the gods in the heavens argue that the reason I am to split up my time is because of something I had consumed in Mementos. Is this true?” she asked.

 

“If it beseeches you-”

 

“That wasn’t my question,” she said firmly.

 

“Yes, it was likely because you consumed something here,” he replied quietly.

 

“Tell me,” she said slowly, her hand reaching for his cheek gently, “Was it because I laid with you or was it something else?”

 

He was quiet while he thought. Obviously, he had never been in a predicament like this where a prisoner were to stay for any other reason other than consuming the food in Mementos. 

 

“I don’t know, my love,” he answered honestly, hoping silently that she would understand his plight, “Whatever it was, it seems you can’t properly leave anymore. We might spend the rest of eternity considering the possibilities, but the fact of the matter is that you belong to me for half the year now.”

 

Makoto thought of his response in silence, and then turned towards the books again. As if intuitive as to which book it was exactly, she had found the one he had planted in her lap for the first time. The tome was just as heavy as she remembered, and the moment she touched it again, it seemed to all make sense.

 

“‘Pomegranate,’” she said slowly, “The knowledge I consumed. It seems Sae may have been correct. In her efforts to hide the tomes of the other realms from me, her lack of warning had sealed my fate effectively.”

 

“Then you mean to say that reading words of the other realms will contract you to stay there?” he asked, brows knitting together.

 

“Such intuition,” she said with a low laugh, “Worthy of a god.”

 

“You jest,” he frowned, “And you believe you won’t suffer the consequences of your poignant statements?”

 

“It wasn’t meant to harm,” she said, returning to his side once she tucked the book back into place, “I questioned these things alone for the last half of the year, and…. I’ve accepted it.”

 

He looked at her with a strange expression. He did not dare make any assumptions, but it should have been obvious that he wished to make love to her endlessly. That was for certain. But, his heart did a flip when he thought about his initial desires of making her his queen, his wife. 

 

“What do you accept?” he asked with a swallow.

 

“That I want to be with you,” she said, eyes shying away, “That I would oblige being here with you for the next half a year, and all the years going forward. And that…”

 

“You’ll be my queen? Queen of Mementos?” he asked softly.

 

“If I am to belong to anyone, I  _ suppose _ that should be you,” she said with a small laugh, “Even with that aside, I would like to be your wife.”

 

The words were hard for her to admit, and he could sense it in the way her voice became heavy and low. There was a dull pang in her throat as she said this, as if she could cry in a moment if he were to say no. But, he didn’t. He wanted it just as much as she, and he reached for her to press a kiss to her lips.

 

“Then you agree to forever?” he asked.

 

“You make it sound like such a placid statement,” she mused, “Yes, I wish to be yours, however that might be.”

 

He was silent as he drank up her words, pressing kisses to her temple before he murmured ‘yes’ into her ear. Makoto was ecstatic, but it was as if she knew his answer before he had confirmed it, and there was a warmth in her heart that she couldn’t quite place as anything she had ever felt before. It made her heart pound and whenever he held her tighter or closer, it’d beat even faster. But it didn’t stop either when he pulled away, it made her wish for that closeness again and again. 

 

“I thought about you constantly,” he told her quietly, “Almost nonstop.”

 

She heard him sigh deeply before he pull all the strands of her hair into his hand so that he could begin braiding it.

 

“I thought about when I could touch again, feel you all around me,” he sighed, “It was torture. I’m afraid when you leave again, it’ll hurt just as much if not more. My own personal hell.”

 

Makoto frowned at his dramatism, and he looked at her forlornly as if he couldn’t help it. When he finished with the braid, the strands inevitably untangled, her hair too soft and silky to hold in place. She reached for his hands now that they were no longer occupied, and held them to her chest.

 

“Can you feel me?” she asked quietly.

 

“Yes,” he replied breathlessly.

 

“I’m here now,” she told him, “And when I leave, know that I will return to you. Always.”

 

Her words were enough now, and he decided he would split Mementos for her. 

 

It was as simple as that really, but he held her hand and asked that she look towards the heavens. She frowned for a moment, looking upon the sea of darkness. The crackle of the earth frightened her, reminding her of the collapse in the cloisters not too long ago. But the splitting sky caught her attention still, her red eyes staring up in awe as the landscape of the realm changed. In time, the stars appeared, and the night sky that she had once recognized appeared through the clasm of the earth. Makoto was perplexed at it all. Where there was once darkness was now replaced with a divide. Through the new split in Mementos, she could see the heavens far, far away. 

 

“The heavens…” 

 

“For my peace of mind,” he told her, his forehead pressed to her temple, “You won’t be too far away from home.”

 

“You’re my home now,” she said with a small laugh, “So when it’s spring, I can look down and see you also?”

 

“If you wish it,” he mused, “I’m afraid it would hold no purpose for me when you’re gone. I’d much rather you be with me than looking up at you desperately.”

 

“I’ve never imagined what it would look like from down here,” she said slowly, “I just didn’t think it was possible. It’s so far away, but it’s beautiful.”

 

“Do you miss it?” he asked.

 

“I don’t think I do,” she said with a slight shrug, “I’ll see it again soon enough.”

 

“Then-”

 

“That’s not to say that I wouldn’t miss you when I left,” she answered for him.

 

She listened to him sigh as she stared into the heavens. 

 

“Your heart is so heavy,” she commented, “I can feel it just by touching you.”

 

“Can you blame me?” he groaned, “You’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.”

 

“And you are thinking too far into the future,” she scolded, “I just got here and you can hardly pay attention to me save for moping about when I  _ won’t _ be here.”

 

He turned to her and stared for a moment before embracing her tightly. If only for a moment, Makoto could feel the breeze of the late night rustle into the ground. Between the warm embrace of Akechi and the feeling of the earth once more, she was happy. 

 

“I’m sorry, my love,” he said apologetically, “You are right. Allow me a moment to venture deep into the insecurities of my heart and I will without further consideration. I have not a single being to hold me accountable until you came.”

 

“Such flowery words from the god of Mementos,” she chuckled lowly, “You know the gods refer to you as cold-hearted? Their description hardly matches what I see in you.”

 

“Spring has melted away the cold bitterness of winter,” he smirked, “Is it so hard to see that you’ve changed me?” 

 

She pulled away, her breath along his lips for a moment.

 

“Show me,” she offered, “Convince me that I have.”

 

“Growing an ego, are we?” he said with a cock of a brow, “No matter. You’ll know regardless soon enough.”

 

He whisked her away, the chasm of the heavens chasing them as he led her to their bedroom. 

 

“I’ve never seen so much light in here,” she teased, “And it’s night as is.”

 

“You jest when you’re uneasy, did you know that?” he asked with a smirk.

 

“N-no.”

 

It was the first time he could close his eyes and he didn’t have to imagine. It didn’t take long before his lips found her neck and sealed away her fate in bed. Makoto overhead his quiet whimpers between heated kisses, sure enough that they were sounds that he could not control. In time, Makoto began to match the sounds he were making, his darkened hands all over her body like they once were. She couldn’t quite place what had been missing in her time away from him, but it was this. Surely, there was much more to explore than what he had shown her last time. 

 

With her legs spread and straddling his hips, Makoto felt at ease. Akechi allowed her there, sinking into the bed as he stared up at her. From here, she could control all of her motions - kiss him as she pleased, and controlled him at will. It didn’t stop his hands from wandering all over her body, and he gripped all over her hungrily as if it were the first time he was tasting her. It wasn’t long before he pulled at the strap around her shoulder, and the creamy garment dropped to her chest. Makoto tossed her heavy hair behind her back and his hands magnetized to pull down the rest of her dress. She held him in place when he growled under his breath, hands reaching her hips to get ready and flip her underneath him. But, she wouldn’t allow it this time.

 

She paused, enunciating her desire to claim him this way, and her red eyes were certain. He grimaced for a moment, and then eased back into the bed. Makoto was slow at first, but she wanted to test how fast his desire would pick up. It was already obvious that the tent under his robes were hard as can be, but she had never tried pressing her body on it however she wanted to. Her motions were inexperienced, but Akechi still found a way to grit his teeth whenever she ground herself near his member. She realized very quickly the power she had over him this way, and he melted into her hands like the humans that worshipped her. 

 

“Do you prefer when I’m on top of you like this? As you are with me?” she asked him subtly, her breath along his jaw as she mimicked his actions from the past.

 

“Can I answer when you’re not driving me mad?” he growled lowly.

 

Makoto mused at his answer, returning to her ministrations for a moment longer. She could see his hands fisted into the sheets of the bed, and when he trembled for a short moment, she knew that it was going to be all over for her. He grabbed her hips like he did once before, and she was pinned to the bed, an inescapable fate. 

 

Without another word, he pulled down the rest of her dress and sank his lips to her navel. Makoto let out a broken moan, not ready for his teeth to sink bites into her skin. He never stayed in one place for long, traveling up to suck at her breasts when he needed to grind his cock against her thigh for some release. She was gasping for breath when he pulled away, his saliva glistening on her skin was hardly something she had planned to be turned on by. A bit further, and she could feel the burn and ache of her flesh turn violent in want. She throbbed just at his breath down there, and he traced his nose along the inside of her thigh for a moment while he kissed at her skin. She let out a noise he had never heard before, and turned feral within an instant. His lips sank into her core and he began to suck and lap away. Makoto swore he had to have learned this somewhere, and she quickly recognized those motions of his tongue similar to his kisses. 

 

She melted into his mouth, grinding slow and steady as if seeking out more and more of that pleasure. She swore that if he continued, she might have experienced some sort of new and exhilarating thing that she might not have ever read about. She waited for more, breath hitching whenever she thought he might stop. Finally,  a stroke of lightning seemed to grapple her entire body, and what she had not been able to replicate no matter how hard she tried happened finally. Her voice trembled as she moaned out his name, body quivering for the first time since he had last touched her, and he could tell. Akechi smirked into her folds, and his tongue dived in one last time just for good measure before he allowed her her rest.

 

“Goro…” her voice trailed off, “What was that?”

 

He leaned back up to her lips, slipping his tongue between her lips and she eagerly accepted in curiosity. She tasted herself for the first time, and it was unbearably and surprisingly sweet. Akechi seemed to agree, lips spreading into a smile before he kissed her again. 

 

“Is that all?” she asked plainly.

 

“There can be more,” he laughed, “Has time away from me made you impatient?”

 

“No… I just didn’t know if you wanted me to return the favor is all,” she said with a blush.

 

“I would welcome it, but you returning the favor is much lower on my priorities. Can I embrace you as I did before?” he asked, his fingers brushing her lower lip.

 

Makoto could hardly answer, nodding shyly. She heard a rupture in this throat before he dove down to claim her. He had anticipated this moment for months, and it felt just as debilitating as the first time had her. Within a moment, Makoto had bent her knees and accepted him between her again. She sighed as she waited, but there was a hitch within his heart that he just had to placate. Akechi went to kiss her, but this time it was gentle. Like the calm before a storm, he kissed her as if it were their last, electricity spreading throughout his body as he tried to calm his nerves. He wondered, why was it so destabilizing to be around her this way, even if he knew his release was imminent? 

 

There was a tether of some sort between them, something that no matter how much he tried to calm and relentless give in to, it would just never be enough. That’s why he knew all along that it had to be her. There was simply no other explanation, and he had all the books in the realm to confirm it. Their souls were tethered, and no matter how many times she might have slipped out of his reach, he’d always find a way back to her. Perhaps the times of which he trampled the earth in his rare visits, he had just barely missed her picking flowers. How many times has it been that they had simply walked by one another when he was summoned into the heavens? In some sort of twisted way, as if gods were not the ones that pulled the strings of fate, he believed that there was a higher being bigger than the two of them that had orchestrated them this way. 

 

In some sort of existential crisis, Akechi realized that what he had recognized as being in love with Makoto initially had truly transcended that. He loved her, and there could be no other explanation for it. 

 

“I love you,” he said against her lips upon this realization, “I love you, Makoto.”

 

The phrase left her in shock, for it wasn’t the first time he had expressed something similarly. But before she could respond, he returned to his ministrations, desperately grabbing at her body before he found her core once again. He settled between her, the head of his member gently prodding at it. There was no fear like there was last time, and her lips were ever so slightly parted in anticipation. He edged in, freeing them at last from their teasing dance. Once again, he could feel her all around him and he was complete. With himself fully enveloped inside of her, he began to thrust slow and steady. 

 

There was something different about this time, and Makoto finally realized what it was when he held her body close to his. His heart pounded in rhythm to hers, confirming that tethered connection once more. He rested his forehead against her cheek as he focused on the way she felt around him. Whenever she reached out for him, holding onto his body in fear that he might slip away, he would reassure her with either his hand along the curve of her waist or his lips against her neck. Soon enough, he picked up his speed and prepared to rut inside of her. 

 

“Don’t leave me,” he whispered, voice shattering ever so quietly as he begged.

 

The gnawing at his throat hurt too much, and he knew it would stay there long after he came inside of her. 

 

“I won’t,” she promised, “I’m here.” 

 

He gasped when he neared his orgasm, and for a brief moment, he forgot that he was a god and she was a goddess. He forgot everything in between except for the fact that he loved her, and in that moment, it was enough. He spilled inside of her, clutching onto whatever part of her he could reach as he moaned out her name. It was the first time she had heard it like that, and the vibrations of it caused her to follow shortly after, her eyes rolling into her skull as she murmured his name in turn. 

 

He collapsed off to the side of her, his forehead pressed to hers and his lips just within reach that he could kiss her gently if he wanted to. She smiled softly at him, eyes closing finally to rest, and she swore she could’ve just slept the time away. But, his lips lingered over hers for a moment, causing her to wake. 

 

“Would I be selfish to ask that we do that for the rest of the time I’m here?” she asked quietly.

 

Akechi laughed at her bluntness.

“You have not peered into my heart well enough to garner what true selfishness is,” he mused, “But I fear as enticing as your request is, there is much more you’d like to do here than lay here.”

 

“I want to read with you beside me,” she agreed, “I want to know what these duties of yours are. If I am to be queen of Mementos, surely some of those will fall to me?”

 

“Worry not, my love. We have all the time in the world, do we not?” he said with a smirk.

 

Makoto grimaced and nodded in agreement. 

 

“Then rest,” he said, pressing a ginger kiss to her eyelid, “We have forever after all.”

 

At the mention of forever, Makoto fell asleep almost instantly.

 

\------

 

When the humans found that their grounds could not sow anything anymore, and their lives were spread thin once again in fear, Makoto knew it was almost time for her to return to Sae. It was strange though, that in the time that she had spent in Mementos, Akechi seemed to grow more at ease with her leaving. At the mention of it now, he would simply squeeze her hand, whereas in comparison to before, the grounds might have crackled for hours on end. 

 

Akechi relayed his concerns with Akira being the one to cart her back. She tilted her head in confusion, and when he returned her gaze with a frown, she could see what he was feeling. She agreed that he would be the one to bring her back to Sae. For the first time in ages, Akechi prepared his chariot, queen in tow. 

 

What might have previously frightened her grew on her in time, and soon, Mementos wasn’t as horrid as she had originally thought. At night, she could gaze up at the stars when she grew tired of reading, laying on Akechi’s chest as he read aloud to her. When she asked it, he fastened a comb out of bones together and combed her long hair from beginning to end. As much as he had liked it, she knew she’d cut it the moment she returned to the heavens. In time, her duties as queen of Mementos grew and the throne that sat in dust and decay found a new purpose. Flowers that had previously decorated her hair were now replaced with a crown, and with time, Makoto smiled when referred to as the queen. 

 

Akechi dare not go through the golden gates, terrified at the  _ mediocrity _ of the other gods there. Makoto frowned at such a description, but she patted his cheek before pressing a kiss to his lips. 

 

“You will return for me in six months?” she asked hopefully.

 

“Not a moment later,” he agreed.

 

“Then, I’ll be waiting here,” she said with a smile. 

 

Her hand reached for his, feeling the fade of his warmth for a moment longer. Her heart was uneasy as she thought about the turmoil she might have to go through herself in the next six months. She had grown accustomed to her time in Mementos, and when Akechi was suddenly fine with sending her away as if fate, her heart sank as she thought about it some more. 

 

“Why do you frown so?” he asked, reaching for her face.

 

Makoto looked for the words. She had practiced it in her mind ever since she heard him say it. Was it true, she often found herself asking. Other times, she wondered if there was any better way to say something so plainly. But for the most part, it made her heart warm whenever he said it, and so, was it so far off for her to wonder the same?

 

“I love you,” she told him.

 

She paid close attention to his mahogany eyes. She liked it especially when he was full of expression, and he was colored surprised for certain. She laughed softly for a moment, taking in the moment that she had waited for. He pulled her forward and held her close to him, hands around her back tight and protective. 

 

“I love you,” he said in return, allowing himself a heavy sigh before he released her. 

 

There was a lull before she found the courage to go without tears. His hands squeezing around hers once more, she wondered for herself if this would get any easier. Akechi leaned in to kiss her, tender and passionate like the one he could not resist the first time. Makoto melted into it, and with the way that he was embracing her, she knew in her heart it would be okay. 

 

“Six months,” she murmured against his lips, “Not a moment later.”

 

He smiled and nodded. If it was her wish, he would grant it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All good things must come to an end - or go on forever. Thanks for commissioning me! I really enjoyed writing this.


End file.
